*By Akadu Ntiriwa Mensema Ph. D.; Post-Grad. Dipl.


"Ghanaians want to see swift justice. When I mention speedy justice, I do not
mean people should be arrested indiscriminately and thrown into jail. I mean
every effort should be made to investigate the many wrongs that were
perpetrated in the immediate past…The family of … many Ghanaians are still
waiting for proper investigation into the death of their lost one
(Jerry John Rawlings (Ghanaweb December 15, 2009).


Hurray JJ jejeti JJ jejeti JJ jejeti
Hurray swift justice for all
The eternal tail of state
Spoke his heartless heart out
Let out of NDC Palace at Ridge
The man of men who has it all
The man who knows it all
Through violence and chicanery
Talks about one of his pet projects
This one is about JJ’s JUSTICE
The murderer in our silent midst
Sanctioned by yesterday’s gods
Talks about real justice for all
He is the one who killed us
And he now demands justice
Who killed innocent people
Killed others for working hard
JJ murdered conscientious judges
And blamed Amartey Quaye
Not the Ewe assassins in his pay
The stupid Amartey Quaye
Like many fools had done
Had placed JJ on a pedestal
Fools like Boakye Djan
The so-called Osabarima
Fools like Akata Pore
Fools like Obed Asamoah
Fools who have allowed
Rawlings to enrich himself
While trumpeting probity
Fools who have allowed
Rawlings to kill for power
Fools who are now in exile
Fearing their own monster-king
That now eternally harasses us
JJ is free roaming like wind
And calling for justice for all
When a violent murderer-king
Calls for justice for a generation
Of brutalized, but coward people
Then the gods are speaking


JJ has never been accountable
Not his Achimota school-daze
Where he inhaled like a bush rat
And bagged 9 nines at the O-level
Not as a bumbling air force man
Who failed all officer examinations
Not when he seized properties
Not when he took our 50-cedi notes
Not when he murdered the judges
Not when he killed his opponents
Not when he killed Yeye Boy
Not when he killed Kyeremeh Djan
Not when hundreds disappeared
Not when he buried people in the sea
Not when thousands went into exile
Not when women were caned
Yes caned in their genitalia
And coward men look on
Not when he beat up his ministers
Not when he beat up Arkaah


The third coming of Rawlings
Under Mills is for the gods
The great gods have sanctioned
That JJ loses his sanity in public
And Rawlings is losing his sanity
And we all know that now
His avid clanspeople know it
His eternal detractors know it
The sycophants know it too
The gods have sanctioned it
The gods have asked Rawlings
To call for long overdue justice
So that they can grant him that
When a murderer call for justice
The gods answer and hail him
Hail JJ Rawlings for justice
And justice he will have it all
From the great Ghanaian gods
JJ the mad monk of Ghana
Who has sidestepped shame
He is out to get justice for all
And the gods will accept it


**Akadu N. Mensema is a nationalist Denkyira beauty. She is a trained
oral historian cum sociologist and Professor in the USA. She lives in
Pennsylvania with her great mentor and teaches Africa-area studies at
a college in Maryland. She writes what critics have called “populist
hyperbolic, satirical” poetry. She can be reached at akadumensema@yahoo.com