Tucking the piece of paper on which the message was into the pocket of her suit, the Vice-President turned to his son who was staring out of the window. He was the love of her life for which she would do anything. Thinking about him, she wondered if it would be best for her, in the face of the threat to her life, to resign. Yes, she was patriotic but she would rather die for her son than for the country.
The Black Mercedes Benz went through the huge black gates of the official residence of the Vice-President of Ghana. They had arrived home. The Mercedes Benz came to a stop in front of the house. The Vice-President got down with her son and went indoors. Sika, the head of her domestic staff came out from the kitchen to welcome her.
“What are we having for supper?” the Vice President asked her.
“Ma, we are having Nick’s favourite; rice with grilled chicken,” Sika replied. Nick screamed in delight and ran to hug her. Sika led him away to change his clothes. The Vice-President went to her bedroom to undress and switch to something informal. It was while she was undressing that an idea occurred to her. She thought about it for a while, then switching to jeans shorts, and a red T-shirt, went out to seek Sika.
“Can I use your phone for a call, Sika?” she asked. Sika was taken aback by the request because; the Vice-President had never asked her for such a favour. However, she was happy to let her have it.
Vice-President Gertrude Mensah returned to her bedroom, sat on her bed and took the note from the anonymous soldier out of the pocket of her suit, pressed the buttons of the number she had been giving specific instruction to call. Then she waited, listening to the phone as it rang. Presently, a voice came on the line...
“Do you know who is calling you?” the Vice-President asked.
“Yes, Your Excellency. You are Vice-President Gertrude Mensah,” the male voice said.
“How do you know it’s me calling since you don’t know this number?” the Vice-President asked.
Lt. Clottey told the Vice-President he knew she was the one calling because the number he asked her to call was a new number and she was the only one he had given the number. His reply made sense to the Vice-President.
“Okay, now I am all ears. What is this about a plan to assassinate me?” she asked. For the next five minutes, she listened with rapt attention as the soldier narrated how he came to be a privy to the plot to assassinate her. He explained how he came to find himself at the James Town Police Station. That fateful night, the preparation the six police officers were making to undertake an operation. What the Sergeant told him about the reason for the operation. The sudden appearance of the three gunmen at the police station, how they opened fire on everybody, how he, Lt. Clottey survived by pretending to be dead and what he heard the gun men say before leaving the police station as well as the reported murders at the Sakumono village and beach.
Vice-President Gertrude Mensah was speechless after the soldier’s narration. She remembered hearing about the massacre at the police station during news time on Spring TV and later reading it in the Daily Trust.
“Are you there, Madam?” Lt. Clottey asked.
“Yes…yes…I am here…eh…this is shocking…” she replied, her mind in turmoil. For the first time since she became Vice-President, she felt a clear and present danger to her life.
“But…what…why will anybody want me dead?” she asked. She had never felt fear in her life as she was feeling at that moment. The narration by the soldier left no doubt in her mind that those plotting to assassinate her were heartless, ruthless and would stop at nothing to assassinate her. They had murdered more than twenty innocent people in cold-blood just to make sure their plot to assassinate her does not leak.
“Madam, I do not know why they want to assassinate you. That is what we must find out. However, even more pressing is how to stop them from assassinating you. Unfortunately, I do not know when they intend to strike. However, the fact that they said people close to you at the Presidency as well as people at National Security are involved means we have to tread cautiously. That is why I had to go to that extent to reach you. It was the only way to get to you without alerting anybody,” he said.
“I understand,” she replied, almost in a whisper. Fear gripped her by the news. She realized that everybody around her was a suspect. Anyone she may try to confide in may as well be part of the plotters.
“What do I do?” she asked. Thoughts of being assassinated and leaving her son behind unsettled her. “You may think I am tough but I am scared. Perhaps, I have to resign immediately,” she said. Even as she said that, she knew the last thing she would want to do is resign as Vice-President of the country.
“Madam, since we do not know why they want to assassinate you, resigning may not be enough. They will still come after you after you resign. You may be more vulnerable then because you will not have any security apparatus ready to protect you,” Lt. Clottey said. She recognised the sense in what he was saying.