Office of Flt. Lt.(rtd) Jerry John Rawlings [Former President of the Republic of Ghana]

September 26th , 2006

The News Editor

PRESS RELEASE

A deliberate move by the Daily Guide newspaper to smear the name and image of Former President J.J. Rawlings has been exposed by the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, USA.

Daily Guide in its editions of Monday September 25 and Tuesday September 26 published an obvious falsehood that a subpoena commanding Former President Rawlings to appear before it had been issued by a Chicago court, through the Ghana Embassy in Washington D.C.

The State Attorney of Branch 29 of the Cook County Court has referred to the Daily Guide claim as “crazy”. The State Attorney whose responsibility it is for issuing any subpoenas in respect of cases at that branch has denied ever issuing such a document inviting Former President Rawlings to testify in the case of the State of Illinois vrs Victoria Boateng.

Daily Guide., has therefore sought to inflict a calculated lie on the good people of Ghana with an obvious intention:

1. to create a diversion in the minds of the good people of Ghana from the numerous crimes that have engulfed the NPP Kufuor administration and beginning to weigh it down AND

2. to tarnish the image of the Former President J. J. Rawlings.

The State Attorney in Cook County, Chicago has indicated clearly that the court has jurisdiction only over persons resident in the Chicago area and that it is very rare for the court to issue a subpoena of the kind that Daily Guide is claiming to possess.

The Attorney also confirmed that the case against Victoria Boateng(claiming to be Kutu Acheampong’s daughter) has not as yet come for hearing. He gave other details that a warrant was issued for the arrest of Victoria Boateng on September 7, 2006 and she was subsequently arrested on September 12 and granted bail later. She will be appearing at branch 29 of Cook County court on 16th October, 2006 to answer to charges of assault against Mr Reuben Hadzide, the President of the Ghana National Council in Chicago.

Victor Emmanuel Smith
Special Assistant and Director of Public Affairs