A former Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. George Kwaku Toku Oduro says the smear campaign reported in the Modern Ghana and Phoenix news portals is being orchestrated by the Deputy Majority Leader of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
The said publication authored by one John Boateng is imputing that Prof. George K.T. Oduro obtained his PhD through subterfuge from the University of Cape Coast.
It also alluded that Prof. Oduro’s work was discredited for plagiarism and further alleged that the professor was said to have raped a female colleague among other allegations.
Addressing the media to quell the fabricated stories about him, Prof. Oduro emphasized that all said by the writer is a palpable lie and should be disregarded.
Facebook Publication: THE PLIGHT OF A YOUNG LECTURER
A young lecturer (Dr. Mercy Otsin) at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), is being subjected to psychological torture by a political power wielder. A land facility she has legally purchased from the Lands Commission is being forcefully taken away from her. I could feel devastation in her voice as Dr. Otsin, a native of my holy village, Agona Asafo, narrated her shocking experience to me.
A story building structure she and her husband are developing on the land was demolished without any prior notice nor court order. The couple had been granted a permit to develop the land. It is alleged that the demolition exercise was at the instance of the Effutu MP, Afenyo Markin. Dr. Otsin has lodged a complaint with the police hoping that the police will help the couple to pursue justice.
My interaction with some people in Winneba suggests that’s what the MP, with the support of the MCE, does to innocent and genuine landowners with impunity. One person lamented, “Winneba is a very painful and sad story. What you are describing is a tip of the iceberg. The MP takes everyone’s land. He has his boy, Mr. Danso, as the chairman of the lands commission, and grabs lands including lands that belong to very poor old women who might have struggled to have them in their lifetime.”
Can this be true of an MP who is a Lawyer by profession and occupies a strategic lawmaking position in Parliament? It’ll be helpful if the MP comes out to clarify the situation.
The voiceless must be heard and protected. Unnecessary show of power must be stopped.
Update
At about 9:00 pm on the day I posted the demolition story on Facebook (November 19, 2023), the MP phoned me up and demanded that I pull down the post with an apology because it defames him. He said HE DID NOT KNOW anything about the demolition of the structure.
I explained that my post was not defamatory because I only referenced the allegation made against him and requested that he clarified whether the allegation was true or not.
He asked if as a Professor, I would publicly clarify a post alleging that I was involved in trading marks for sex. I responded that if it’s an allegation, I would clarify.
He reiterated that he didn’t know anything about the demolition and had not instructed demolition of any structure. He concluded, threatening a court suit if I failed to pull down the story by the next day.
After talking to me, the MP phoned up the young lecturer, Dr. Otsin, and threatened her with the same court suit, if I failed to pull down the story.
On 20th November, I received a WhatsApp message from one P. K. Sarpong who also demanded that I retract the story and apologise to the MP or face the consequences.
Mr. Sarpong further sent the intimidatory WhatsApp message below to Dr. Otsin:
“Good morning
My name is P.K.Sarpong
I am chatting with you in connection with the post Prof. George K. T made on Facebook defaming Hon. Afenyo-Markin.
The accusations are false. Please, ask Prof. George to take down the post and apologize to Hon. Afenyo-Markin lest a suit would be filed and you’d be joined in same.
You sent all the videos and pictures to the Prof. We are much aware of that.
Ask him to pull them down and apologize or face the consequences, and trust me, you’d not be left out in the suit”
Ironically, Mr. P. K. Sarpong in his WhatsApp message to me, added the video below. Contents of the video contradict the claims by both MP Afenyo Markin and Mr. Sarpong that the MP did not instruct demolition of the structure. Readers should listen to this portion of the interview in the video for the facts.
MP’s Reaction and Harassment
According to Prof. Oduro, the Effutu MP was not pleased with the post and therefore instructed for the post to be pulled down and an apology rendered to him on grounds of defamation.
He said after realizing the post had not been pulled down, the MP threatened to file a lawsuit against him and the UEW lecturer.
Prof. Oduro further explained that the Effutu MP had not only threatened a lawsuit and visited harassment against him but later declared a full-blown war to fight him back.
Petition
At the back of this, Prof. Oduro says he will petition the Speaker of Parliament and the Ghana Bar Association over the conduct of the MP.
“In view of the fact that an MP should be seen as protecting the interests of individuals in his constituency rather than causing him psychological torture, a lawyer should not use threat of court action as an intimidatory tool for suppressing the rights of the voiceless in the society, and Hon. Afenyo-Markin’s unwarranted declaration of full-grown war with me, I will Petition the Speaker of Parliament, the Ghana Bar Association and to lodge a formal complain to the police about the fabricated stories”, he assured.
Alleged Degree from UCC
On the issue of obtaining his PhD through subterfuge from the University of Cape Coast, he refuted the claim saying he had his doctorate degree from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
He indicated that at Cambridge University, his paper was adjudged the best in the UK regarding educational leadership and his thesis was also adjudged the second best by the British Educational Leadership and Management Association.
“I also want to say that my thesis, the academic paper they are referring to, is the source of the Ministry of Education/GES’ LEADERSHIP FOR LEARNING PROGRAMME. It is being used to strongly develop and strengthen the capacity of leaders in our country. So, whoever says that my work was plagiarized of course is not clearly not in tune with reality.” he said adding that the publication is a mischief.
The former Pro-Vice Chancellor said he takes particular exception to this publication because it has a serious implication for UCC.
“This university has been ranked number one (1) and so, if you make such a publication, then you are indicting the university. You say that the university does not employ quality rigour screening to get its staff, but the University of Cape Coast doesn’t just appoint people”, he bemoaned”.
Read more stories here
Source: Eric Sekyi/ATLFMNEWS
