It is a tale of the two Sam Atta Mills. Both are close relatives of deceased Prof. John Evans Atta Mills. Junior Sam is the biological son of the third head of state of the Fourth Republic, while the senior Sam is the junior brother of the departed former professor of law.
Senior Sam is listed under the Speaker’s orders in the House as the Honourable Member of Parliament for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem. For the past three and a half years, not much has been heard about Prof. Atta Mills’ brother in Parliament. He represents the political party Jerry John Rawlings founded.
Not many of his own constituents might have been fortunate to follow Sam’s submissions under the instructions of Prof. Michael Oquaye, the Right Honourable Speaker. In fact, as a senior journalist in this republic, I have never heard the voice of Mr. Sam Atta Mills making any submission on the floor of Parliament.
Even when our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora came down as part of activities marking the ‘Year of Return’ and made Elmina a major rendezvous spot, I never heard of the contribution of the Hon. Member of Parliament for the area to the programme.
If you ask me to name your members of Mike Oquaye’s House I consider under the non-performing asset declaration, I might not hesitate to put down the name of the deceased President’s brother.
Last week, the voice of Sam, the deceased President’s brother, was heard all over the place. You may call it a bolt from the blue. Apparently, Samuel Senior had been to the Okay FM studio in Accra and made a pronouncement which many Ghanaians would consider controversial.
According to information available on the world-wide net, Mr. Samuel Atta Mills told the ‘Ade Akye A Bia’ programme on Okay FM that he was with the late President when he passed away.
“A furious Samuel Atta Mills condemned the attempt to make political capital out of the death of their relative, and sounded a word of caution to such perpetrators to desist from this act of drunkenness,” according to the soft copy of a news item Peace On-Line put out.
Samuel, the politician, did not name those engaged in what he called ‘act of drunkenness,’ but it is obvious he was referring to those seeking to understand the circumstances under which his brother was pronounced dead. Contrary to the growing perception that no autopsy report was issued in relation to the former President’s death, Mr. Samuel Atta Mills said an autopsy report was issued, and that the family was satisfied with what is said on the official bulletin said to be responsible for the former President’s death.
“An autopsy was conducted. I was present when it was done… It is time those behind these allegations cease with their act of drunkenness,” he fumed, according to the radio station’s report.
He was reported to have said that if members of the current administration and its followers were interested in opening an inquiry into the cause of death of leading figures in this society, they ought to investigate the tragic death of Mr. Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu, one time Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North.
If there was an autopsy report on the former President’s death, somebody failed to inform Sam Atta Mills, the son. Three years ago, precisely on the fifth anniversary of the death of his father, young Sam told television network GHOne that he had still not seen nor heard of any autopsy report on his father’s death.
“The hospital (37 Military Hospital) never gave any autopsy report as to this or that was the reason why he passed away,” young Sam complained to the television station. “I don’t think any member of my family would be able to give evidence on what happened or what caused his death.”
Read the lips of Sam, the son: “I have not seen anything of the sort. I don’t think anyone has. If anyone has it, he or she should be free to let me know, but I do not think anyone has.”
The son was speaking during the five years commemoration of his father’s death. He said he would support any enquiry to establish the cause of the President’s death. “I have heard a lot of stories, but I also believe that in order for you to take an action there must be some level of evidence and some level of facts. There have been several rumours and stories, but until I see some concrete evidence, I don’t really have much to say. If someone wants to approach me to do investigation, I will champion the cause because he is my father and I want to know,” he explained.
The son of the late President told the press that he had lunch with his father and an aunt on the day the head of state was declared dead. He said he was shocked to learn that the President was dead not too long after leaving him at Castle.
It is a matter of the young Samuel waiting on the Lord to open the way. In I Samuel Verse 10 to 12, the Bible says: “Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times: “Samuel, Samuel,” and Samuel answered, “Speak thy servant heareth. Then the Lord said to Samuel: ‘Behold I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.”
One hopes and prays that that the Lord leads young Sam and the whole nation to discover what actually caused the death of his father. Every Ghanaian who cares to know would tell you that long before the late Professor of Law campaigned to be elected the head of state of this republic, he was terribly ill.
I do not believe there is any Ghanaian who would have raised a finger if the professor’s death had not been messed up with bizarre twists and turns, as officially announced. It was the manner in which the announcement was packaged and read out that has raised all the concerns.
In the first place, it did not make sense to tell Ghanaians that a head of state who normally travels with an ambulance in his convoy, and led by a motorcade with sirens blaring all over the place, was sent to the 37 Military Hospital on the last leg of his stay on this earth without an ambulance and without sirens in the mid-day rush hour.
That idea must certainly come from a cloud cuckoo mind. Then again, was the controversy about those taking the terribly ill head of state to seek medical care missing their way and taking the Presidential patient to the Maternity Ward, instead of the Emergency or the Intensive Care Unit.
Whether Samuel the Parliamentarian would accept it or not, his brother died in office as head of state. It was state money that was used to organise that lavish funeral. Every Ghanaian living everywhere has a stake in the exploitation of the public purse that sent the departed head of state to his ancestors.
If, indeed, there was an autopsy, will Samuel the Parliamentarian share the contents with the people of Ghana? I want to know what killed my former President.
Is Sam the brother aware of the controversy surrounding the death of the former President? No! Mr. Samuel Atta Mills cannot gag this society from knowing what exactly killed the former President.
It is important to know why the former Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North was so brutally killed in his bedroom. I am amazed at the slow pace of the trial of the person who has confessed to killing the New Patriotic Party MP.
The National Democratic Congress was in power when the MP was killed in cold blood while he slept. Daniel Asiedu, alias Sexy Don Don, was arrested and confessed to the murder. His trial has stalled all this while.
Many Ghanaians complained about the apparent lack of interest on the part of the Attorney General’s Department when the NDC was in power. Some of us were elated when the elephant swept the polls in December 2016. We thought the trial of the murderer of the Abuakwa North MP, a true royal of the Akyem Abuakwa stool and a grandson of Mr. Joseph Boakye Danquah, the doyen of Gold Coast politics would interest the NPP in power.
It has been three and a half years since the elephant stormed Jubilee House. Unfortunately, there has not been anything positive to report from the trial of the murderer of Mr. J.B. Danquah-Adu.
It is an indictment on the justice system that, so far, the trial has stalled. But that does not mean that the good people of Ghana do not have a right to know what killed the third head of state of the Fourth Republic.
Today is June Fourth. It is 41 years ago when Jerry John Rawlings led a rag-tag army of rebels to take over this society in a reckless blood-bath. Rawlings claimed he had launched a crusade to cleanse this society.
The late head of state occupied Castle in the name of the political party Jerry Rawlings founded from the remnants of the military oligarchy he let loose on this society. Before his boom statement today, it would be in the interest of Mr. Rawlings, and those who claim to believe in him, to tell Ghanaians what killed the former law lecturer.
Let me serve notice here. I intend to return to this topic on July 24, the eighth anniversary of the tragic death of Prof. John Evans Atta Mills. I cannot be restrained from telling it as I know it.
I shall return!
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s editorial stance
The post When Mills and Mills tango over Mills’ death -Ebo Quansah in Accra appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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