Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has expressed shock and disappointment over a public attack from Mr. Kwasi Kwarteng, the campaign spokesperson for Kennedy Agyapong, who allegedly referred to him as “inferior.”
In a Facebook post, Awuni recounted that the incident stemmed from a recent publication by The Fourth Estate on the free Wi-Fi project for senior high schools, which the Auditor-General flagged as wasteful. The report revisited earlier findings that had raised concerns about the contract.
According to Awuni, Mr. Kwarteng, who served as the Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Education when The Fourth Estate first reported on the issue, reacted angrily to the latest publication. He reportedly sent messages to Evans Aziamoor-Mensah, the journalist who conducted the investigation, accusing Awuni of being behind the story.
However, Awuni clarified that he left The Fourth Estate before the original story was published, and that both he and Evans have had no involvement in the latest report. “Evans told Mr. Kwarteng that I had left The Fourth Estate even before the first story was published,” Awuni wrote. “Despite being told this, he issued a press statement attacking me and tagged me in the post.”
Awuni said he questioned why Kwarteng continued to associate him with the report despite knowing he was no longer part of the organization. He described Kwarteng’s actions as “pettiness not befitting of someone who calls himself a lawyer and law lecturer.”
In response, Awuni said Kwarteng replied, “Manasseh Azure Awuni, your inferiority explains your condescending nature. You have never been able to disagree with anyone politely.”
The journalist expressed disbelief that someone who lectures in law and serves as a campaign spokesperson for a presidential aspirant would publicly label a fellow Ghanaian as inferior. “Apart from the fact that his surname is ‘Kwarteng’ and mine is ‘Awuni,’ I don’t understand why he believes I’m inferior,” Awuni wrote, questioning whether Kwarteng would have tolerated a similar remark from a white person without calling it racism.
