Kufuor offered to be my lawyer in a trial, but I rejected his offer – Kwesi Pratt

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Kwesi Pratt

Kwesi Pratt Jnr, the Veteran journalist and Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, has revealed former President John Agyekum Kufuor once offered to represent him in a trial, but he declined the offer.

The Veteran journalist recounted that he decided to defend himself because he believed the case was politically motivated.

Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, Kwesi Pratt recounted, “… I suspect [it happened] in 1992-3. I was arrested with Adu-Boahene, and we were charged with obstruction of justice. There was a dynamite attack on the Kotoka International Airport by a group called Farrigan. This group was led by an Alhaji Damba, and they had come from outside to carry out this operation, and they came to see us. Of course, I told him I was not interested”.

“Adu-Boahene apparently told him he was not interested and so on, but during the investigations into these explosions, Adu-Boahene and I were picked up, and we were charged with the obstruction of justice and tried at the National Public Tribunal”.

“So, I actually went through interrogation. It was a proper charge sheet and so on. I think that was about the only time that I had been told why I had been arrested,” he added.

Kwesi Pratt added that during his trial, former President John Agyekum Kufuor offered to represent him in court, but he refused.

 The Veteran Journalist added, “Interestingly, President Kufuor offered to defend me, to be my lawyer in the trial. Well, if you see the photographs of the trial, you will see President Kufuor sitting behind me, and he wanted to be my lawyer, but I refused because I insisted that the trial was political, had nothing to do with the law.

“It was a political trial, and I thought that nobody could articulate the politics of the moment better than I could do so I did not accept him as my lawyer, but he still helped me. He actually took my notes. So, you see him sitting behind me in the tribunal, taking notes and so on,” Pratt stated.

He further recounted, “And he took my notes, and it was very helpful. I defended myself, but I knew the trial was not going anywhere. I was absolutely right because you see, to be tried in a court, you have to read your caution statement, and I knew what I put in the caution statement. I knew that the caution statement could not be read anywhere.

“My caution statement was almost a book, and I put everything in it. I remember when I was writing the statement, one hour had passed, and I was still writing and so on. There was Adu-Boahene sitting by me, and then he looked at me and said, what are you writing? Why are you writing so many things? You’re going to implicate all of us.

“I said, just relax. I know what I’m doing. Nobody can read this statement in any court anywhere in the world, and I suspect that that was one of the reasons why the trial did not go far,” he recounted.

Also, Kwesi Pratt, in that same interview, revealed that Kwesi Pratt Jnr, revealed that he has been in prison about eighteen times.

According to Kwesi Pratt, he has spent nights in the Akuse Prison, Navrongo Prison, Tamale Prison, and Usher Fort Prison.

He further added that he has also been detained at the Police Headquarters and the cells of the Bureau of National Investigation a couple of times.

Kwesi Pratt disclosed that the longest period he has spent behind bars is six months.

The veteran Journalist disclosed, “The last time we sat down and counted, I’ve been to prison 18 times. I have been in the guard room in what is known as Gonja Barracks twice. I have been detained at the police headquarters a couple of times, and at Bureau of National Investigation cells a couple of times.”

“I’ve been detained at the Usher Fort Prison, I’ve been detained at the Akuse Prisons, I’ve been detained at the Navrongo Prison, Tamale Prison and several police cells,” he disclosed.

Kwesi Pratt further added, “There was one time I was told why I’ve been arrested, and I was actually interrogated, and that was once. This was in 1992 or 1993. I was arrested with Professor Adu Boahen, and we were charged with obstruction of justice”.

Also, Kwesi Pratt revealed that the Akuse Prison was his most difficult experience across the prisons, adding that food was served in a chamber pot.

According to Kwesi Pratt, in prison, there was a standard meal called Manpower and Zontoli.

“One of my most horrible experiences was in Akuse Prison, where they served the food in a chamber pot. There is what they call Manpower and Zontoli, which was standard. The Manpower was the soup, and this soup, if you look at it, you could see the few ingredients that were used to prepare it at the bottom; it was transparent. The Zontoli is supposed to be banku, but it was as hard as wood,” he added.

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