Sir John sings ‘It wasn’t me’

Far from assuming the music career of Jamaican-American pop singer and rap artist Orville Richard Burrell, otherwise and more popularly called Shaggy, New Patriotic Party (NPP) chief scribe, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie Monday found good cover in Shaggy’s “It wasn’t me” hit single.

He flatly denied knowledge of notices served Monday by the Supreme Court that it intended to deal with a certain Sir John for alleged contemptuous comments on the election petition pending before the court.

Not even when his host on Asempa FM, Kwadwo Asare Baffour Acheampong, aka Kaba reminded him severally that the court was specific it was talking about Sir John would make Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie identify with the case, pointing out that he was not the only Sir John.

It wasn’t me, he insisted, echoing the advice Shaggy offers his friend who had just been caught by the girlfriend sleeping with the girl next door. “Say it wasn't you,” Shaggy had counselled, and the grateful suspect held fast to it, anchoring his defence on “It wasn't me”.

The court at its Monday sitting said it had received notices that some two persons including Sir John had passed comments deemed worse than earlier ones whose authors the court had punished and indicated it would deal with the matter in due course.

At the announcement, cameras in the courtroom carrying the hearing live zoomed in to Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie who was right in the courtroom.

But on Asempa FM hours after proceedings, he said he did not hear any mention of Sir John, and even if the court mentioned the name, he was not the only one with that alias, besides his real name is Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, not Sir John.

Said Kaba: Were you frightened to hear your name in court today?

Sir John: Was my name mentioned today?

Kaba: Yes Justice Atuguba mentioned you.

Sir John: Then I did not hear that.

Kaba: You mean you did not hear them say they were going to listen to an audio recording from which the Enquirer had published some claims attributed to you?

Sir John: Yes I heard them say Sir John had said something.

Kaba: So you heard that one?

Sir John: You have just brought it to my attention. I did not hear.

Kaba: You did not hear that part?

Sir John: No.

Kaba: Ah, they’ve mentioned you and Justice Atuguba says they’ve got a copy of the recording for their peruse and that they will deal with the issue in due course.

Sir John: All right, then let’s wait and see.

Kaba: Should I play back Justice Atuguba’s voice for you to listen since you say you did not hear?

Sir John: What will that amount to since these days voices can easily be mixed and mimicked and images can be superimposed. What will playing back the voice do, we heard about Kofi Adam’s case, Radio Gold also created Kennedy Agyapong and Kofi Ghana’s voices so today, you have to hesitate on these things.

Kaba: Well this is Justice Atuguba’s voice I want to play since you say you did not hear him.

Sir John: How do I even know you have not created or faked or mixed the voice you are talking about? Anything is possible so let’s stop talking about it.

Kaba: Oh you know my work, clean, I’m not faking anyone’s voice.

Sir John: It is said that those you dine with are those who consume your meat and so we are counselled to be wary of the living instead of ghosts.

After the denials, Sir John who had joined the radio station via phone to propagate a set of guidelines issued by the NPP to direct the party’s communicators on how to proceed to speak on the on-going election petition drummed home the importance of the guidelines and said it was key that people abided by them in order not to fall foul of the courts and to refine public discourse on the petition.

The election petition has been filed by three leaders of the NPP – Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who was the party’s presidential candidate for the 2012 elections; his running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and NPP chairman, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey. They have asked the court to declare Nana Addo winner of the presidential poll as a result of alleged irregularities they say gave President John Mahama victory.


Story by Isaac Yeboah/Graphic.com.gh/Ghana