The soldier who was acquitted in the murder of three judges and a soldier in 1982, said one stone that was left unturned during investigations, was Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings.

Sargent Daniel Akata-Pore is of the view that, had the former president been investigated by the Special Investigation Board (SIB), more than was known would have been uncovered.

“When there is a criminal act and an investigation happens, critical people to the incident have to be investigated. It is clear to everybody- at least at that time, everybody knew that the Chairman (Rawlings) had a lot to do about it and he wasn’t called to be investigated.

“How can the investigation be complete if persons of critical interest to the case have not been interviewed? I want the truth because I believe that there are some persons who operated within the PNDC – particularly the Chairman, Rawlings, who knew a lot more about the murders and that truth has not come out yet,” Sgt. Akata-Pore said.

He was speaking from his base in the United Kingdom via Skype, on JoyNews TV’s analysis programme Up Front on Wednesday. 

Sgt Akata-Pore was one of the 10 people indicted by the SIB over the killings. He was, however, not prosecuted because the then Attorney General found no evidence to proceed with prosecution.

The abduction and killing of three High Court judges and an ex-soldier, under the Rawlings-led PNDC 37 years ago, still baffles many Ghanaians.

From left, justices Poku Sarkodie, Cecelia Koranteng-Addow and Kwadwo Adjei Agyepong

A documentary – Who killed the judges – which aired in 2018, detailed how the three High Court - Justices Kwadwo Adjei Agyepong, Poku Sarkodie and Cecelia Koranteng-Addow and Samuel Acquah, a retired Major in the Ghana Armed Forces, were abducted and shot dead.

Had it not been for a downpour that night of June 30, 1982, their bodies, which were set on fire, would have been burnt to ashes.

What all three judges had in common was that they had reviewed cases of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), an earlier military regime led by Rawlings.

The military officer, Major Acquah who was killed alongside the judges, was involved in the dismissal of Amartey Kwei, a member of the PNDC from Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC) for partaking in a Rawlings-instigated protest.

The soldiers sentenced to death and killed for the crime said they were carrying out orders of the state.

Related: Rawlings launches attack on ‘Who Killed the Judges?’ documentary

Mr Rawlings and his National Security Advisor, Capt Kojo Tsikata, have vehemently distanced themselves from the atrocities.

Sgt Akata-Pore spoke from his base in the UK

For Mr Akata-Pore, a lot more would have been uncovered if persons, he described as “critical” were investigated.

Although the former president appeared at the National Reconciliation Council (NRC), the former soldier said the killings will not go away until specific questions are answered.

Much of these answers, in his view, are with former president Rawlings because he knows more than anyone else.

“The Chairman (Rawlings) had a lot to do about it but he was not called to be investigated. How can the investigation be complete if persons of critical interest to the case have not been interviewed,” he queried.

There is more in the video below: