Renowned Kenyan lawyer and committed Pan-Africanist, Patrick Lumumba, recently revisited the events surrounding the abrupt cancellation of a programme he was slated to speak at in Accra earlier this year.
During an interview on African Streams, a prominent Kenyan channel, on January 22, Lumumba detailed the unexpected turn of events, sharing how he and fellow participants received the news of the highly anticipated event being cancelled by the government at the last minute.
“It was unfortunate because I know that we were invited by the New Dawn Foundation,” he said before stating the prowess of their host, Nana Kwame Bediako, alias Cheddar, in the Pan-African space.
“This is an individual we work with in the pan-African space and Bediako, who invited us, is quite a serious entrepreneur in many areas of real estate and you can see what he wants,” he added.
When questioned about the potential motivation behind the government’s decision, Lumumba suggested that it might stem from apprehension regarding the well-known stances he and the other participants hold on current political developments, particularly within the West African subregion.
“Barely two hours later, we were driving to the place when we received a letter that the government was going to use the same space and they never used it anyway. So, it was a clever way of cancelling the thing. It is sad that we do not allow ideas to germinate.
“The government must have known about it. While people have been talking about coups, we have said these are revolutions that are in their early days. I am sure when they looked at us, some would have said these are dangerous individuals who must not be allowed to share this dangerous information,” he added.