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Former President Jerry John Rawlings has categorically denied ever absolving his successor, John Agyekum Kufuor and the Abudus from being the brains behind the heinous murder of Ya Na Yakubu Andani II. According to him, a recent publication by the Daily Guide newspaper that he (Rawlings) has made a dramatic volte-face over the issue in contrast to his previously held position, is simply "calculated for selfish political effect". The Daily Guide newspaper, on Wednesday, published that Mr Rawlings, whiles addressing an audience during the funeral of the Omanhene of the Kwahu Traditional Area, Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng at Abene in the Eastern Region stated that �I don�t think Kufuor or the Abudus were the killers of the Ya Na". But in a sharp riposte on Monday, the Office of the Former President described the report as "deliberately skewed to generate negativity towards President Rawlings by creating the impression he was inconsistent" and further asked that the publication be disregarded. "President Rawlings is not in any doubt that there was official complicity in the matter of the demise of the Ya Na hence the superficial investigations into the issue. "It is important to note that President Rawlings has never wavered as far as his position on the Ya Na�s brutal demise is concerned," the statement added. Read a copy of the statement below. RAWLINGS DENIES DAILY GUIDE KUFUOR STORY The attention of the office of H.E. Jerry John Rawlings has been drawn to a publication in the Friday, December 12, 2014 edition of the Daily Guide under the headline; �Kufuor Didn�t Kill Yaa Na � JJ�. In the said story, the Daily Guide states that President Rawlings has absolved his successor, John Agyekum Kufuor and the Abudus as brains behind the demise of the Ya Na. We wish to state that the reference to President Kufuor in the lead paragraphs of the story were a complete fabrication, very false and deliberately skewed to generate negativity towards President Rawlings by creating the impression he was inconsistent. During his visit to Abene Kwahu on Wednesday December 10, 2014 to bid farewell to the late Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng, President Rawlings took the opportunity to speak on diverse issues including the lack of just and conclusive investigations into the death of the Ya Na. He expressed disquiet over how the NPP under President Kufuor did little to unmask the killers and criticized Presidents Mills and Mahama for their inaction in bringing a just conclusion to the matter. He subsequently indicated that because investigations so far have been inconclusive, the culprits have gone free while an impression has been created that some Abudus may have totally been responsible. In stating that the Abudus may not have been totally responsible the former President made no reference to President Kufuor. That reference is a crafty and dubious creation of the Daily Guide carefully calculated for selfish political effect. President Rawlings is not in any doubt that there was official complicity in the matter of the demise of the Ya Na hence the superficial investigations into the issue. It is important to note that President Rawlings has never wavered as far as his position on the Ya Na�s brutal demise is concerned. He revisited the matter recently because on November 25, 2014 a delegation led by the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani called on him to express their disappointment about the fact that no funeral had still been held for the Ya Na since he died in 2002. This is a serious matter that cannot be swept under the carpet and used as a petty political tool by the Daily Guide and its cohorts. The misinformation of the December 12, 2014 edition of the paper is something the public does not deserve. We have copies of the video recording of the address by President Rawlings at the Kwahuhene�s funeral and dare the Daily Guide to come out with a contrary record of the address. We therefore entreat the general public to disregard the said publication by the Daily Guide.