“Kumepreko” @25 Marked Without Nyako-Tamakloe & Tarzan

President Akufo-Addo, Kweku Baako, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, and others, exchanged pleasantries to mark the 25th anniversary of the “Kumepreko” demonstration.

Akufo-Addo and kume Preko

Those at the forefront of the 1995 protest to force then President Jerry John Rawlings to withdraw the Value Added Tax (VAT) policy were; Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, Dr Charles Wereko Brobbey alias Tarzan, Kwasi Pratt Jnr, Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako, Akoto Ampaw, Victor Newman, Kwaku Opoku, Napoleon Abdulai and Nana Akufo-Addo.

Strangely, the former Army Doctor, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe and Dr Charles Wereko-Brobbey, were not seen in the pictures making the rounds.

However, it was only, Kwesi Pratt, Kweku Baako, Akoto Ampaw and one other man, who were captured in the pictures.

It is unclear whether the absence of Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe and Dr. Charles Wereko Brobbey, have something to do with their suspension from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), following their disagreements with the then NPP Presidential candidate, Mr Akufo-Addo, on the way he was running the then opposition party, leading to the suspension of National Chairman, Paul Afoko, his Deputy, Sammy Crabbe and General Secretary, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong.

In the photos, making the rounds on social media, the President was seen sharing pleasantries using the elbow, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting is reported to have taken place at the private residence of the ex-Accra Mayor, Stanley Agyri Blankson, 3rd Circular Road, Cantonments- Accra on May 17, 2020.

Mr Akufo-Addo, is reported to have congratulated his fellow compatriots for contributing to Ghana’s freedom.

Kume Preko, was the name given to an anti-government demonstration that occurred in Ghana in 1995, led by Nana Akufo-Addo.

The protest took place in opposition to the Value Added Tax (VAT) initiative which was introduced under the Jerry John Rawlings administration.

It is said to have been one of the biggest protests ever organised in the country, with an estimated 100,000 people participating.

The demonstration was initially billed as a peaceful protest, but quickly became violent when unidentified assailants shot live bullets into the crowd resulting in the deaths of a few protestors.

“Kume Preko” means “You may as well kill me” in the Akan language spoken by the majority of people in Ghana.

In the aftermath of the demonstration, some of the leading protestors – Nana Akufo-Addo, Charles Wereko-Brobby, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Akoto Ampaw and Napoleon Abdulai wrote a book “Ghana: The Kume Preko demonstrations: Poverty, Corruption and the Rawlings Dictatorship”.

Recently, Charles Wereko-Brobby, wrote an article to mark the event.