Major (Rtd) Abubakar Sulemana, a high ranking military man in the late seventies who knew former President Jerry John Rawlings, has stated that he could not have ordered the killing of people when he was the military leader of Ghana owing to his gentle and kindhearted nature.

Major (Rtd) Sulemana, who is now the chief of the Tolon Traditional Area, noted the deceased former Head of State was used by unscrupulous persons within his government to achieve their evil deeds.

“To tell you the truth, when things happen this way, we look at things above without looking at those under. I strongly believe that Rawlings did not just wake up and give orders that other people should be killed… I knew Rawlings very well. The man loved even horses; how can such a man do that?” He quizzed while responding to the execution of persons under the regime of Rawlings.

Former President Rawlings staged a successful coup in 1979 during which some senior military officers, including the then Head of State, Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, were killed. He handed over power to a democratically elected government, only to overthrow it in 1981.

He has been accused of engaging in extrajudicial killings and torture of persons while he was Head of State.

For Major (Rtd) Sulemana, Rawlings could not have willfully ordered that people be killed for no just cause.

Rawlings passed away Thursday, November 12, 2020, at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital after a short illness. Controversy has arisen following concerns by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the processes of mourning him have been hijacked by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) even though Rawlings is the founder of the NDC.