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The opposition National Democratic Congress members of Awutu Senya East Constituency are crying foul over unfair treatment meted out to them by the Awutu-Senya East MCE (Michael Essuman) of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) on the onging Limited Registration Exercise.

In a statement copied to peacefmonline.com, their statement reads that; “we have called you here unusually this morning because our lives and that of innocent residents of Kasoa and Awutu Senya East are under threat.”

According to the statement, insecurity has reached a busy peak level and has been watered on the soil of vigilantism where it appears some appointees of NPP Government now have become leaders of vigilante groups with no regard for human lives and no empathy to correct the current state of affairs of this country.

"Ever since the NPP won power, Kasoa and Awutu Senya East constituency have had a fair share of this primitive acts of crimes perpetuated through the command of the current MCE of the municipality, a darling boy of President Nana Addo and Mavis Hawa Koomson, who has shirked his responsibility of spearheading the security council of the municipality by assuming the duty of unleashing attacks on perceived opponents and on innocent people who express dissenting opinions," the statement added.

Read full statement below;

A PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE COMMUNICATION OFFICER OF NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS AWUTU SENYA EAST (ASEC NDC) ON MCE LED THUG ATTACKS ON EC OFFICIAL & NDC MEMBERS.

Tuesday, 25th June, 2019.

Friends of the media gathered here, Fellow Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen.

We have called you here unusually this morning because our lives and that of innocent residents of Kasoa and Awutu Senya East are under threat. As we are all aware, never in the history of this country have we seen so much insecurity under a Government apart from the Government of this current NPP and President Nana Akuffo Addo.

Insecurity has reached a busy peak level and has been watered on the soil of vigilantism where it appears some appointees of this Government now have become leaders of these vigilantism groups with no regard for human lives and no empathy to correct the current state of affairs of this country.

Ever since the NPP won power, Kasoa and Awutu Senya East constituency have had a fair share of this primitive acts of crimes perpetuated through the command of the current MCE of the municipality, a darling boy of President Nana Addo and Mavis Hawa Koomson, who has shirked his responsibility of spearheading the security council of the municipality by assuming the duty of unleashing attacks on perceived opponents and on innocent people who express dissenting opinions.

Many examples abound with videos circulating last year of how he led his Kasoa NPP thugs   on an attacking spree in the heart of the township in the run-up to their constituency congress. Aside that, the video of NPP members who went to a known river to invoke curses on him and the MP, Mavis Hawa Koomson was because of attacks on their lives and the heights of chaos and insecurity he has led the township of Kasoa into ever since he was appointed as an MCE.

Friends of the media, Last Sunday night, the 23rd of June, 2019 opened up yet another height of the acts of terror the people of Kasoa have witnessed under Michael Essuman  MCE’s leadership. The unprovoked attacks unleashed on an EC official and on innocent teenagers, who are first time registrants, and on members of the NDC by his NPP thugs   together with Bernard Nana Orko-Hene aka Nana one , NPP ASEC Youth Organizer who is a national security operative and  alleged member of the NPP vigilante group “Invisible Forces” that unleashed violence on innocent Ghanaians during the AWW by-election, is not only primitive and regressive but once again confirms our long held suspicion that, the NPP’s approach towards the 2020 elections is fulcrumed on one agenda, which is to utilize intimidating and threatening tactics against their opponents to maim, injure and put their lives at risk.

The violent incidence orchestrated by the NPP at Akweley, an off-Line Registration center in Kasoa, is yet another desperate cowardice demonstration by the NPP to hang onto power at all cost including using brutish means to terrorize their political opponents, especially members of the NDC.

As gathered and narrated by eye witnesses and all present yesterday, the reason for the brutal physical assault on Mr. Freeman Adjah Tetteh, a Registration Officer of the EC, was because he stuck to his professional work ethic by turning down a dictatorial order by the MCE, Michael Mensah, to have minors he had bussed to the venue to side-step all arrangements to register before those who had joined queues earlier in the day who could not register to be given an unfair priority the next day.

This needless intrusion by the MCE which was humbly turned down by the EC official with a firm stance that registrants would be served the next day on “first come, first serve” basis, with the reason that, he had only one kit which would make registration for those coming the next day difficult ought not to have attracted any attack on the EC official. This stance by the EC official however did not go down well with the MCE who in response ordered his thugs to beat up Mr. Freeman Adjah Tetteh, who is also a headmaster at St. Mary’s Anglican JHS at Akweley-Kasoa, the registration officer. He was beaten and bundled into a vehicle which was part of the MCE’s convoy and driven off to an unknown destination as a result.

As if this was not enough, the Constituency Youth Organizer of the NPP, Bernard Nana Orko-Hene aka Nana 1  in a Rambo style, also stormed the center few minutes later with his hoodlums and indiscriminately fired warning shots, to the surprise of all present causing a pandemonium as all persons present fled for their lives including first time teenage registrants. The NDC constituency Youth Organizer, Michael Nana Bamfo, NDC ward coordinator of Akweley Nana Yaw Ekumfi, Constituency Executive Member Andrews Donkor were all physically assaulted during the same period. The case has since been reported at the Kasoa New Market Police Station with assurance given that it would be looked into and the perpetrators brought to book.

We also wish to set the record straight in respect of the obvious lies being spread by the NPP and their attempt to draw our Constituency Chairman, Mr. Stephen Ofosu Agyare who was nowhere near the scene into their PR strategy to cover up their shameful act which has been widely condemned. The MCE was interviewed by two media houses, Adom Fm and Citi Fm where he gave two contradictory submissions  on the matter. 

On Adom Fm he lied about how our constituency chairman carried guns and started shooting while he denied having said same on citi Fm after a probe on Eye Witness News. The conflicting is only an afterthought and a means to cook up a story that does not exist and never happened. Again, his claim that the NDC are camping Malians  and other foreigners at Abbeam Institute is a cock and bull story meant to throw dust into the eyes of the good people of Kasoa. 

As a matter of fact, to add to available evidence, the police yesterday apprehended an NPP member wielding a knife and other weapons at the same venue the incidence took place on Sunday can be cross–checked. Also last week, NPP members who mistook each other as opponents stabbed their member on his neck at another registration center.

We by this statement wish to sound a strong warning without any form of equivocation that, we shall not be intimidated by the NPP during this limited registration exercise as we would conduct ourselves as law abiding citizens with a clear focus to ensure we eliminate the state of insecurity and hardship Ghanaians are currently faced with under the incapable Government of President Nana Addo. We wish to state it clear that Ghanaians and the good people of ASEC are calling back President John Mahama to return this country into a state of progress and peace to recover the lost glory we have suffered under this regime which is what the NDC in Kasoa is focused on.

We are not the least moved by the evil agenda of the NPP and the MCE of Kasoa, who is paid with the ordinary Ghanaian tax payers money and ought to have behaved responsibly, than to interfere with the ongoing limited registration exercise which has already been bedevilled with lot of issues which needs to be addressed including relying on 3 BVRs and kits for over 13 electoral areas in the constituency-a situation which has created lots of anxiety and discomfort for first time registrants.

We are by this Press Conference also calling on the security agencies, especially the Kasoa Divisional Police Command to expedite action in bringing the perpetrators of this heinous and violent acts which occurred last Sunday to book without fear or favour as nobody is above the laws of this country whether MCE or NPP constituency Youth Organizer in Michael Essuman and Bernard Nana-Orko-Hene.

Any attempts to allow the perpetrators of this act to go unpunished as we have witnessed in the past, when the same MCE personally led thugs to attack members of his own party in the middle of the night for expressing their opinions because their names were forcefully removed as legitimate voters from their delegates list, would lead us to advise ourselves going into the 2020 elections as this is a premonition we are not ready to nature and pamper.

Thank you once again Friends of the Press, Fellow Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen for your presence.

Signed;

Delali Sewoekpor

CO, Awutu Senya East Constituency