Government has approved an amount of $45,000 to former boxing champion David Kotei, a.k.a. ‘D.K Poison’ after 45 years of pursuing the money he allegedly loaned to the Government back in 1976.
In a communique signed by Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, released yesterday, he indicated that a directive has been given to the Ministry of Finance to reimburse D.K, now 69 years on compassionate grounds.
A copy of the letter read “Ï write to convey the approval of the President of the Republic for an amount of Forty-Five Thousand United States Dollars (US$ 45,000) to be paid to Mr. David Kotei (a.k.a DK Poison) on compassionate grounds.
“By a copy of this letter, the Ministry of Finance is requested to take the necessary action to give effect to this directive.”
D.K Poison, a former featherweight champion in 1975 and 1976 and first Ghanaian professional boxer to claim a world title has over the years unsuccessfully ‘chased’ previous governments to pay his $45,000 which he allegedly loaned to Ghana during the military regime of General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong in 1976.
According to D.K, the money was used to import canned mackerel at a time the country was confronted with harsh economic conditions.
The money, he said, was negotiated by his management led by Col. John Slater and was deducted from his $75,000 purse for successfully defending his title against Japanese Fuku Yama that same year.
Unfortunately, by D.K’s account, shortly after the mackerels arrived, the Acheampong government was overthrown by General Fred Akuffo and therefore every effort to retrieve his loan proved futile.
At a meeting at the Jubilee House in October last year whem the president, Nana Akufo-Addo welcomed a delegation from the boxing fraternity as part of Journalist and boxng pundit Ekow Asmah’s book tour, D.K brought the matter to the attention of the president to which he promised to look into it.
BY NANA BENTSI ODURO
