“Rawlings told me he was not responsible for my arrest” – Kwesi Pratt recounts

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Makay
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The late Jerry John Rawlings

Kwesi Pratt Jnr, a renowned Ghanaian broadcaster and Pan-Africanist, has recounted his first encounter with President Jerry John Rawlings after his time in jail during the revolution era.

The veteran journalist disclosed that the late Rawlings persistently sought a meeting with him through Ralph Kessley-Hayford, but he kept declining the offer.

According to Kwesi Pratt, after agreeing to meet Jerry John Rawlings, they spoke for close to five hours, during which he told him he was not responsible for his arrest.  

Speaking in an interview with Kafui De on March 24, 2026, Kwesi Pratt recounted, “That was in 2001, after the handover. He insisted on seeing me. I refused the first time. He had approached a friend of mine, Ralph Kessley-Hayford, and asked him to convince me to meet him.

“Eventually, I agreed, and we met. The three of us spoke for about four and a half hours. It was during that meeting that he told me he was not responsible for my arrest and detention,” he said.

Kwesi Pratt added, “He told me that some of my own friends were the ones pushing for my arrest and detention, and that, as a leader, he could not ignore them. However, when I tried to verify this, I found that the truth was quite different.

“But we spoke for four and a half hours, and it generated a lot of public reaction. President Kufuor and others could not understand why, after all the struggle, I ended up meeting Jerry Rawlings,” he added.

Also, Kwesi Pratt Jr has 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.

He 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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