By my pen, gun we won June 4; I made Rawlings a ceremonial head-Boakye Djan

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By my pen, gun we won June 4; I made Rawlings a ceremonial head-Boakye Djan

The rift between ex-president John Rawlings and his former confidante Osahene Boakye Djan appears to be elongating with both men marking the controversial June 4 uprising in their own unique ways.

Whilst ex-president John Rawlings was grudgingly lighting the perpetual flame and damning government functionaries for corruption, to mark the day, Boakye Djan in a rather uncharacteristic fashion addressed followers on the tenets of June 4, his role and Rawlings’ June 4 benefits.

The June 4 Uprising which was led by junior army officers in 1979 toppled the Supreme Military Council II under FWK Akuffo and undertook what they referred to as the house cleaning exercise.

Flt Lt John Rawlings who was then in prison for leading an abortive May 15 coup was released and made chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council which ruled for nearly three months and handed over power to a democratically elected government led by Hilla Limann of the PNP.

In 1981 Flt Lt Rawlings toppled the PNP government and formed the Provisional National Defence Council- an action which many architects of June 4 consider as a betrayal of trust.

The June 4 uprising was supposed to be the last military intervention in the country.

The 81 coup brought about an unending animosity between Flt Lt Rawlings on one hand, and Rtd Major Boakye Djan, Kweku Baako Jnr and other key participants of June 4 on another.

33 years after the incident, during which Flt Lt John Rawlings won two elections in 1992 and 1996, the simmering tension between the June 4 architects does not appear to be ending anytime soon.

Boakye Djan who is the NDC Parliamentary candidate for Gyaman North at a rally said Mr Rawlings was merely a ceremonial head of June 4.

“If there was a single event that won June 4 that day it was my pen and my gun that won it.

“…I made Rawlings the .. Head of State and a chairman and I became the official spokesman. So I was official spokesman. So I was totally in charge.

He said the much touted slogan of probity and accountability which has been associated to Mr Rawlings was actually crafted by him.

He dared Mr Rawlings to leave the NDC saying he will return just like the Reform Party as well as the DFP did.

From: Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com