Ghana's Rawlings at rights panel
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ACCRA, Ghana (Reuters) -- Ghana's former President Jerry Rawlings appeared Thursday before a human rights commission probing allegations of murder and torture during five military administrations, including his own.
Many were expecting explosive revelations from the outspoken and charismatic Rawlings, who ruled the country for 20 years, but the commission did not ask him any questions about his possible direct involvement in a number of high-profile killings.
Rawlings, who led coups in 1979 and 1981 and had three former heads of state shot on a beach for corruption, was summoned as part of an investigation into the 1982 murders of three judges and a retired army officer, as well as the 1984 killing of a soldier.
Witnesses heard previously by the commission had linked him to those deaths.
The commission's executive secretary Ken Attafuah said Rawlings had denied in writing he was involved in the deaths, but the panel did not consider the submission valid.
Attafuah said the purpose of Thursday's testimony had been to ask Rawlings about video cassettes allegedly showing interrogations of people involved in the killings.
Rawlings told the commission he had recorded on audiotape the confession of one of the people linked to 1982 deaths but did not know where it was.
He said he could not remember exactly what was said in the confession, but the essence was that his national security chief had not been involved, as others had alleged.
Now seen as a model of democracy, Ghana suffered decades of instability after becoming the first black African country to win independence from European rulers in 1957.
Human rights activists say more than 200 people vanished when Rawlings ran a military government before he restored democratic rule in the early 1990s.
He went on to win elections in 1992 and 1996 and stepped down three years ago.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
