I haven’t been paid four years after ‘Trial of Rawlings’ – Actor laments

Ghanaian comedian, Clemento Suarez, has chastised the producers of ‘The Trial of JJ Rawlings’ for refusing to pay him years after he appeared in the musical drama.

In a series of Facebook posts on Sunday, he claimed that the production had ended approximately four years ago, but he and his colleagues were yet to be paid.

He confronted the producers, threatening legal action if they did not settle his payments.

“If Clemento, ‘the star’, hasn’t been paid after four years of performance, what will happen to Kwaabota?? It must end with us!!! The performing artist should be paid and be paid his worth. Producer of ‘The trial of JJ Rawlings’, respect the people and do the needful. If you were part of that play, ‘The Trial Of JJ Rawlings’, comment here, and I will pay you. I won’t let you suffer again. The man has to do the suffering in court. Thank you,” he added.

In subsequent posts, he apologized to other performers who were involved in the project but did not want their names to be publicized because they were not paid.

“I participated in this play with some veteran actors and didn’t get paid. A lot of other young talented folks featured and didn’t get paid as well. The show started on 31st December 2018 and ended on 5th January 2019.
Today I decided to rant on Facebook to draw the attention of the producers about their 4-year delayed payment,” he alleged.
“I apologise to any individual whose reputation has been damaged due to my search for justice. I didn’t mention any producer’s name because, at the time of the post, I didn’t know the name or names of the one/s to pay us. Some people mentioned the name of the scriptwriter or the playwright, please that is not right. Kindly forgive me, sir. Thankfully the fight for justice for my fellow cast and crew who were not paid is still on, and by God’s grace, I am going to get the list of producers for court tomorrow.
They can go and answer to the court and tell the law why young acts will perform under a lawful agreement and won’t get their money. As usual, I wanted to let go of my money and get that of the others, but……. now even if it is 27pesewas that the court will take these organizers for me, I will take it,” he indicated.

‘The Trial of JJ Rawlings’

‘The Trial of JJ Rawlings’ narrates the extraordinary circumstances under which a young military officer, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, shot into the limelight to change the course of Ghana’s history.

After three coups d’etat by senior military officers, the image of the military had sunk so low that the promise of a general election in June 1979 was not enough to assuage Ghanaians.

Feeling that it was necessary for the military to cleanse itself and restore its image, a group of young officers and other ranks of the Ghana Armed Forces mutinied. The leader, J.J.Rawlings, and six others were put on trial by a military tribunal. Rawlings’ bold statements at the trial stirred the conscience of other ranks in the military and civil society.

The result was a midnight release of all the accused from prison, followed by a campaign to ‘clean-up the military’ before handing over power to a civilian government.

The inability of the elected government to maintain the tempo and spirit of the ‘June 4 Revolution’ saw Rawlings return to power in December 1981. He went on to become Ghana’s longest-serving Head of State.