7 things in Akufo-Addo’s letter to Al Jazeera that Martin Amidu makes nonsense of

In that letter, signed by the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, it rubbished certain claims contained in the Al Jazeera documentary titled, Gold Mafia, and asked the media outlet to apologise to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

According to the letter, the claims by one of the main characters in the fourth episode of the documentary that focused on how gold is smuggled out of Africa, Alistair Mathias, that Akufo-Addo was a close friend and also his letter were false.

Based on this, the Nana Bediatuo Asante-signed letter asked that Al Jazeera apologises to it.

However, in an epistle that punched holes and analysed this letter from the presidency, Martin Amidu, who is a known anti-corruption crusader and lawyer, reminded the Office of the President that the claims on the relationship that existed or not between the two characters, was not made by the media house.

“Al Jazeera never said that the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a good friend of Alistair Mathias. Mr. Mathias volunteered that information to the undercover investigators. Whatever other alleged defamatory statements that are on the documentary touching, affecting, and concerning any African President, including the President of Ghana, were made by the members of the Gold Mafia and their operatives to the undercover investigators,” he wrote.

Martin Amidu also stated a number of things contained in the president’s letter to Al Jazeera that he made nonsense of.

Here are a few of them, as teased out by GhanaWeb:

1. The first of all the things we analysed is the statement made by the former Special Prosecutor that Akufo-Addo got it wrong when he sought, through his ‘underlings’ that Al Jazeera never said that the president was a close friend of Canadian Alistair Mathias.

According to the anti-corruption crusader and veteran lawyer, the contents of the April 25, 2023, letter penned under the name of Nana Bediatuo Asante, the Executive Secretary to the president, only shows that they were shooting themselves in the foot.

2. All that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was requesting from Al Jazeera had been provided to the world

Again, Martin Amidu stated in his epistle that the better and further particulars that the Office of the President was demanding from Al Jazeera had already been made public.

He explained that by airing the documentary, which he is sure the president watched, and which brought his attention to the issue so as to respond to it, the documentary detailed everything he needed to know, including the ones he sought to demand from AL Jazeera.

“The President’s letter of 25 April 2023 was written after the fourth series in a documentary of undercover investigations were aired to the world. The President is deemed to have viewed the fourth series of the documentary particularly in which Alistair Mathias made statements touching and concerning his relationship with the President of Ghana. The further and better particulars demanded by the President in his letter dated 25 April 2023 had already been made available to the whole world by the airing of the documentary. Other African Presidents were also damned by the accounts of various Gold Mafia members and operatives,” he added.

3. Al Jazeera was not the one he should be focusing on

Martin Amidu again raises concerns on why the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, would seek to be making demands from the media outlet when it wasn’t the one that directly made the claims against Nana Akufo-Addo.

He explained further that just like Ghana’s president, Alistair Mathias, the Canadian galamsey smuggler, had mentioned the names and his relationships with a number of African leaders.

He, therefore stated that, the direction should have rather been targeted at the man who made the allegations; Alistair.

“The alleged defamatory statements made against all the African Presidents including the President of Ghana were made by members of the Gold Mafia and their operatives who bear prime responsibility for those alleged defamatory statements,” he said.

4. Questions on why Akufo-Addo did not clearly deny knowledge of Alistair Mathias

One of the missing pieces in the letter from the presidency that Martin Amidu highlighted in his epistle was on the point that while they demanded certain things from Al Jazeera, the letter, however, failed to clearly deny or confirm whether President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo knows the Canadian or not.

Acknowledging that the contents of the letter, while punching holes in it, Martin Amidu asked why there was not an attempt through this document to outrightly state what kind of relationship existed between the two.

“As I stated in my discourse dated 24 April 2023, I am yet to read a categorical denial that the President is not a good friend of Alistair Mathias or that he does not know Mr. Mathias and has never met him,” he wrote.

5. Alistair Mathias volunteered information

In his letter as well, the former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, also clarified to the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, that what happened in the Gold Mafia documentary was not one of coercion.

He added that Alistair Mathias voluntarily volunteered whatever information he shared in the video, and as such, it cannot be that whatever issues they have with the contents, would rather be with Al Jazeera.

“Al Jazeera never said that the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a good friend of Alistair Mathias. Mr. Mathias volunteered that information to the undercover investigators. Whatever other alleged defamatory statements that are on the documentary touching, affecting, and concerning any African President, including the President of Ghana, were made by the members of the Gold Mafia and their operatives to the undercover investigators. With the publication of the fourth series of the documentary, – providing the further and better particulars demand by the President – why is the President not directing his threats to exact consequences for alleged defamation to his good friend Alistair Mathias first instead of Al Jazeera? Scare Al Jazeera or mere propaganda?” he wrote.

6. Why did Akufo-Addo dissipate the public purse just to write to Al Jazeera?

Martin Amidu again has a concern about the approaches made by his office in reaching Al Jazeera.

He wondered why there had to be more than one official statement (one from his lawyer, Kow Essuman; and the other from Nana Bediatuo Asante) to Al Jazeera on the matter, when the person they should have been using those resources on should have been Alistair.

He suggested that this was a clear show of unseriousness on the part of the president to address this issue.

“The President’s letter of 25 April 2023 is the normal letter the Attorney-General should be writing, if the Presidency seriously intends to preempt a Special Prosecutor corruption investigation and appear to pursue any alleged defamatory claims as put out to the public.

“Why will the President dissipate the public purse by having multiple public officers write letters to Al Jazeera instead of Alistair Mathias if he seriously intends to ultimately instruct the Attorney-General to institute formal civil action against Al Jazeera for defamation as the President cannot sue in his own name,” he added.

7. The right to sue is not in the power of the Executive Secretary to the President

Amidu also raised a constitutional matter in this case, stating that if there is the need to sue, that should not be communicated, in letter, through the Executive Secretary to the President.

Besides, he wrote, such letters, should have rather been in the name of the Attorney General, who also has the power to be able to sue on behalf of the president.

“Why will the President dissipate the public purse by having multiple public officers write letters to Al Jazeera instead of Alistair Mathias if he seriously intends to ultimately instruct the Attorney-General to institute formal civil action against Al Jazeera for defamation as the President cannot sue in his own name,” he added.

You can read the full statement by Martin Amidu on the matter below: