He began to run, desperate to put a good distance between him and the vehicle. If the soldiers find his car, they would comb the vicinity for him. And if they have sniffer dogs with them, then it was the end of the road.
The rain and the accompanying wind made mobility very difficult for the Speaker of parliament. As a result, he made progress very slowly despite his best efforts. However, he trudged on with determination.
Every inch of land was flooded. This made it very difficult for him to determine where an open drain was. Once, he fell into a gutter but quickly got up and continued his flight. His water resistant phone started ringing. He made no effort to answer the call. He continued to wade through the flood. Finally, when he was sure he had put more than enough distance between him and his vehicle, he slowed down.
Adu-Tutu was exhausted and feeling sore, yet the rain would have no mercy. It continued to pour down with fury. Finally, he came to a chain of stores. There were people standing under the eaves of the roofs of the stores, the homeless, trying to take refuge from the rain. However, it really was of not much use because the accompanying strong winds would blow the rain in their direction every now and then, drenching them.
One of the men beckoned to the Speaker to come over and join them; where they were was bad but better than being in the open. Exhausted and bruised, the Speaker decided to join them, reasoning that the soldiers who were combing the city for him would not be looking for him among the homeless and miscreants.
He made his way to where the man had beckoned to him from and joined the men and women there. His shirt and trousers were all drenched and dripping with water. He greeted those there. He could see most of them were shivering from the cold. He squeezed himself in between two men who adjusted themselves so he could find space in between them. The smell from their bodies was one he would not tolerate under normal circumstances but this was not a normal circumstance so he has to bear it.
One of the men was smoking. Adu Tutu wished he could tell the man to stop it. He could not stand cigarettes. As speaker of parliament, no one would dare smoke in his presence. But here, nobody cared whether he was the Speaker of parliament or not.
The rain continued to pound the city with zeal. Yet, soldiers were about, combing the city in search of the Speaker of Parliament. Many across the country had decided to call it a day because of the treacherous rain and hence were already sound asleep. Those who were awake, stayed glued to their TVs and radios as the announcement came repeatedly that the Speaker of Parliament was wanted; and there was a reward over his heard. This had never happened in the history of Ghana and had certainly not happened in any part of the world.
Some people phoned their friends and family members to tell them what was going on; a shocked nation listened and watched the news item about the Speaker of Parliament. The rain cared less about that; it continued fiercely, unabated.
Rt. Hon. Kwesi Adu-Tutu, finding himself in the most unlikely place in his life, started shivering too like others. And, every now and then, the wind will send the rain their way, lashing it against them with fury. For the very first time in his life, he felt he could feel how the homeless feel anytime rain falls.
“We politicians have not done enough for the people. No man should live like this…” he said to himself as the man who was smoking turned to offer him what was left of what he had been smoking.
“No, thank you,” he said. The man grinned back at him, threw the cigarette away, reached out his pocket, pulled out a packet and then pulled a fresh stick of cigarette from it. Suddenly the man behind Adu-Tutu started coughing loudly. It was a terrible cough yet he made no effort to cover his mouth.
“If this man has tuberculosis, I would surely contract it before the rain ends” Adu Tutu thought bitterly.
His thoughts went to Akpene. He wondered what had happened to her but he was afraid of calling her, aware her phone was now in the custody of the soldiers who she said had stormed the house. His heart ached. In spite of himself, he began to cry silently.
His nose picked the smell of marijuana. Somebody around was smoking the hemp. This was another scent he could not stand. He felt the urge to leave but to where?
His thoughts went to the monies he had accumulated over the years which rained into hundreds of millions of dollars. He knew he was worth at least US$750 million. He had saved a significant amount in offshore banks. If only he could get out of Ghana and start a new life elsewhere. Yes, INTERPOL would be looking for him in many countries but with money, he was confident of disguising himself through plastic surgery in order to outwit them and begin a new life elsewhere, somewhere not very popular, like Tahiti, Belize or Vanuatu. Then he can get Akpene to join him there later. Suddenly, it thundered again, jolting him out of his thoughts.