General Mosquito Has Missed It

Having sought to brush aside the election petition filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with his infamous “any fool can go to court” remark, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is in the circus again- his usual location anytime he seeks to draw attention to himself.

Here is a man who takes long naps in the courtroom when he gets lost in the complex legal arguments between counsel in the petition, yet attempts narrating proceedings to party faithful.

The verdict of the Kenyan Supreme Court appears to have provided him the much-needed fodder, something to hold onto and savour, for want of a better political subject in a country bedeviled with teething socio-economic challenges.

Now we know that he did not mean it when he tried to create the impression that he and his party did not care a hoot about the court action in its embryonic state.

He and his party ran for cover when the NPP laid bare the tip of the overwhelming evidence; and surreptitiously embarked on the useless venture of gathering and signing pink sheets.

And now the Kenyan story, with its totally different political nuances, pops up like a reed for a drowning man, which the NDC is holding on to as if it offers a way out of the petition.

It is a mark of desperation which contradicts the earlier pretentious reaction of the political busybody when the constitutionally prescribed action was mooted by the NPP.

More tensed than Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta, the NDC scribe held his breath briefly, awaiting the outcome of the Kenyan court verdict.

His inane excitement encapsulates the state of mind of the ruling party as the reality of the petition stares them in the face.

Such is the reaction of Mr. Asiedu Nketia whose appearances at the Supreme Court do not present him as one of the decent personalities of local politics, following his failed attempts to encourage over 300 persons to join the action.

For us however, the incongruous and typical General Mosquito rhetoric pales into insignificance against the backdrop of the important lessons to be learnt from the East African country’s rejuvenated judiciary.

It is worth noting that following the sanguinary aftermath of the polls in that country, a new constitution and a brand new judiciary were unfurled- an important milestone in the country’s political history.

The speedy management of the case lodged against the election management body, as ours lingers on, has offered an important food for thought for political scientists and politicians in Ghana and there is no doubt that comparisons are being made regardless of the distance between Nairobi and Accra. See why the Mosquito has missed it?