THE CANCER OF FALSE ACCUSATIONS BY AGENTS OF TERROR MUST BE UPROOTED FROM OUR SOCIETY
We must boldly confront this cancer of false accusations by raging lynch cults poisoning creative spaces in Accra. Three years ago certain individuals violently attacked me on social media with fabricated stories and false allegations. I have since sued and the matter is currently on trial after the defendant Emmanuel Owusu-Bonsu aka Wanlov evaded the court for almost a year.
The facts of the case are that my accusers have been unable to prove, substantiate or produce any witnesses’ or evidence to back their false allegations of abuse in court. The individuals who claimed they had been abused, and on whose account this smear campaign were waged, when the matter went to court and they were required to show up and prove their claims, failed to avail themselves to the defendant as witnesses.
One would think that after they made so much noise and publicly lynched me, they would relish the opportunity to prove their claims. They did not proceed to any police station or court to seek redress although they claim to be fighters and defenders of rights, yet they decided to rather defame me and damage what we had worked for, instead of doing the right thing and proceeding to court!! One would expect that for a matter that caused such outrage, my accusers would boldly lend legitimacy to their claims, and at the very least be cross-examined to establish the veracity of their accusations. Well, it is I who in defense of my name and in the assurance that I was innocent went to court to clear my name, for over a year my accusers who were loud on social media dodged and evaded the court bailiffs, until they were hauled in! even in court, without proving their case where it matters, they still persist in their social media defamation and harassment.
So is it any surprise that on April 19th 2021, the day Wanlov is going to be cross-examined in court, this same toxic mob publishes an incoherent diatribe via Nsempii.com; a gossip blog attempting to divert attention from the real substance of the case. The publication was a repetition of false accusations and scathing lies with the same hysteria, divisive fear mongering in a tone and writing style frighteningly similar to the anonymous blogs that started these fabricated allegations in 2018. All these people have done over the years is to recycle the false accusations over and over while deflecting questions that scrutinize their illogical premise. Anybody who disagrees with their objectionable “activism” was called names and hounded into silence. I think all who read these unfounded accusations must encourage those who proffer them to go to the proper place and prove them! They should focus on the court process and make their case there!!!
Dig up the two anonymous blogs that circulated, those fabricated stories in 2018 namely ‘We Should All Be Ashamed’ and ‘The Wrath of Truth’ and analyze for yourself. The latter actually declared war on me and herded scores into a chaotic hate campaign against me on social media. Three years later all the noise and hot takes have turned out to be false without a single shred of proof. And when called upon to prove their case in a sober and proper manner, they are running away, preferring the unchallenged and noisy diatribes and one-sided narratives on social media.
I’ve been pursuing this matter at the law courts since 2019 and not once have I sought to spin proceedings into a public relations campaign nor create a spectacle to court public sympathy. The objective of the publication was to misdirect and divert attention from the real issue. The real issue being that Wanlov and his associates created a fake Me-too campaign predicated on lies and falsehood and need to be held accountable. This is how great ideas and endeavours are killed without justification. We must not allow that.
People who lie about abuse are worse abusers and damage the cause of all real victims!! Those who damage others and create horror stories about others for clout must be dealt with by the justice system and the entire community in the same manner agents of terror are dealt with because that’s whom they are.
Platforms like Nsempii.com are enablers of violence and abuse; a haven for trolls to hide behind hash tags and mass disinformation campaigns to vilify and assassinate the characters of innocent people. Much like the lynching culture within our society the activities of these raging mobs on social media are based on grotesque forms of othering ones personhood and disinformation through performative activism. It’s all cosplay. The method behind this practice relies on numerous levels of non-reality and disavowal; a permanent delusion playing out in the physical into the virtual world.
To the readers here, please do not let them insult your intelligence, demand that they respect you and prove their case! Demand that they go to the court where the matter is being heard and judged and prove their case. Do not let them damage others with their tales. This is how we kill things in these parts, let us all agree that for progress to happen, we must not allow people to step on others for their fame, to kill what others have done out of jealous spite, just for their own elevation. We do not get better by always cutting others down, we get better when we build on what others have done!! Starting and sustaining anything in the creative space in Ghana is a mountain climb, yet it takes little to destroy everything!! How long will we be our own worst enemies, and deploy our energy to destroy each other instead of building each other up??? I urge the whole community to demand real answers and not fall for the false unproven and baseless accusations!!
Out of respect for our courts and due process, I will hold my peace and tell my story in court, When this trial is over, I will tell you about the secret meetings that hatched this smear campaign. I will tell you about how these people conspired with women’s rights NGOs to activate a vigilante fake me-too campaign predicated on lies and manufactured outrage.
These false narratives have damaged relationships and business opportunities due to Wanlov and his lynch mob incessantly harassing my business associates and artists on social media. We as a people suffer in all ways due to a lack of due diligence about information posted on social media propagated by persons seeking their own nefarious ends, using popularity as an index for truth. Wanlov and his minions have no truth!! , they have an agenda against me and what I have achieved, and they are abusing the trust of their followers, and feeding them lies just to destroy another brother who managed to achieve something good!! Deep down these people are opportunists and hateful cowards when they are observed for what they truly are. The way to true greatness is not to destroy others!! Build don’t destroy!!
Almost 4 years after false accusations and a NGO backed smear campaign against me, my accusers are yet to provide a single proof in court. One would expect that people making accusations that are criminal in nature would have the decency to at least show up in court as witnesses since all the hash tag activism and empty sloganeering was supposed to be a fight for justice. The raging mob screaming for justice now has to resort to smoke and mirrors because their own lies have encircled them.
Emmanuel Owusu-Bonsu aka Wanlov is yet to produce anything factual to back his false claims. Yet on the day he is to be cross-examined, a gossip blog rehashes a decaying smear campaign: a shameless face-saving stunt to avoid scrutiny of the contestation being settled in court. The same tactic is used to silence people who ask legitimate questions about the case. The irony is that the characters behind the Nsempii publication who claim to be anti-violence are the exact opposite. They are agents of terror poisoning our communities’ with reactionary politics that demonize African men, especially ones they are unable to co-opt.
My lawyers remain relentless in our pursuit for justice and are determined prove my case in court. We will win, but more importantly, we are still building and expanding Ghana’s art spaces, regardless of the efforts to destroy it.
Inspite of all the negativity, our work goes on, I led an extremely gifted team of artists to create to two magnificent murals in Accra. Dzen Sane at the Northern end of the Ako Adjei interchange and Beyond the Sea at the Tetteh Quarshie interchange. We are also releasing a podcast and a short film that discusses these murals. Details will be on our website accradotaltradio.com in a few days.
We push forward!! Woya woya…..
Peace
