The Deputy Minister for Information, Pius Enam Hadzide has lashed out at critics of the arrest of three alleged coup plotters, saying it just takes a single bullet to assassinate a president and not some sophisticated weapons
“If there ever was one single important lesson to be drawn from the historical incidence of instabilities and insurrections, it is that it takes a bullet; just a bullet to assassinate a President and to start chaos”.
Government on Monday, September 23, 2019, announced the arrest of three persons who were in possession of weapon cache with the intent of destabilizing the presidency and causing chaos. The three individuals are Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm a medical doctor, Ezor Kafui a local weapon manufacturer, Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu a freight manager.
The announcement was met with mixed reactions as some security experts are of the view that the government rushed to announce the arrest of the persons believed to be behind the plot. Others claim the suspects lacked the capability to overtake the government.
But in a Facebook post, Mr Hadzide indicated that lessons that need to be learnt from history are the assassination of a president and the resulting chaos started with just a bullet. According to the Deputy Minister, critics who are not happy with the government’s stance on the alleged coup and the suspects involved are unfounded and disheartening.
“It is also wrong for critics to suggest that the Government created a mountain out of a molehill simply because they deemed the plotters harmless”.
The three suspects have been remand to police custody to reappear in court on October 9, 2019.
Read the full post below
IT TAKES JUST ONE BULLET
If there ever was one single important lesson to be drawn from the historical incidence of instabilities and insurrections, it is that it takes a bullet; just a bullet to assassinate a President and to start chaos.
Indeed, history reminds us that neither the assassination of John F. Kennedy nor the attempt on Ronald Reagan’s life warranted the application of complex weaponry or sophisticated missiles akin to the atomic bombs used to obliterate Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In both cases, it took just a bullet.
Similarly, the perpetrators of the assassination of Indira Ghandi and the attempted assassination of Nkrumah did not need to employ state-of-the-art artillery to execute their unholy missions.
It is against this backdrop that attempts by some persons to ridicule the discovery of some weapon cache in the possession of some individuals who, according to the relevant security agencies, had a clear plan to create insecurity, targeting the Presidency and their subsequent arrest, must be condemned and discouraged.
The sinister motives of the plotters can not be taken lightly simply because the weapons in their possession were unsophisticated. It is also wrong for critics to suggest that the Government created a mountain out of a molehill simply because they deemed the plotters harmless. It is a fact that the security agencies established a case of clear and present danger after several months of surveillance and after the actual test firing of weapons and fire power.
I commend the security agencies that worked collaboratively to clamp down on those individuals who had forged plans to destabilize the country. Responsive and responsible security ensures that crime is prevented and preempted as much as possible.
It is important, at this point, to remind the good people of Ghana that our darkest days which were marked by a series of coups and military takeovers brought us nothing but misery. Those dark episodes in our history thwarted our effort towards achieving rapid economic transformation. Indeed, those are days we will never wish to revisit.
That is why we must safeguard with all our might, the peace we have today and have enjoyed since the dawn of the fourth republic much to the envy of our neighboring countries. May history continue to guide us to avoid the pitfalls of revisiting our dark days for it took just a rifle and a bullet to plunge our dear country into a deep hole of chaos – a deep hole we are yet to completely crawl out of.
