The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) avers it expects the Ghana Police to likewise crack the whip on NDC members who are found wearing attires, that appear to be military camouflage.
This follows an invitation extended by the police to the National Youth Organiser of the NPP, Salam Mustapha, for allegedly wearing military camouflage.
On Wednesday, April 12, Salam Mustapha, decided to report himself to the police in Accra, after he failed to honor the invitation in Wa on April 7, due to what he described as a family circumstances.
Isaac Jay Hyde, the Deputy National Youth Organiser of NPP, speaking in an interview, exclaimed that it was not a big deal for his boss to have put on a camouflage attire, he therefore called on the police not to be selective in its invitations, whiles NDC leaders also commit same offences. He also claimed that his boss got the attire from a store, in the UK.
“Investigations are still ongoing. Where we are coming from, this is not military apparel, this is an outfit he got from the UK. If you have seen some of the images online, this is a popular brand most people go online to purchase. I must be honest, beyond the whole social media frenzy, the police were more professional, it was an engagement to understand both sides. That’s the most important thing.
“Beyond the issue of enforcing people not to wear military apparel, I think that we need to go into the market, where a lot of people are seen selling camouflage materials. Does any material, which is of a certain military design, necessarily becomes a military apparel?”
Isaac Jay Hyde
Isaac Hyde said the NDC should not attempt to complain of being intimidated, if found culpable of flouting the same law.
“We are law-abiding citizens and will not sit back and say that our government is in power and that we should have our way. The police are our friend, we went in there to do what we had to do. We hope that if it happens on the other side, where we have evidence of images circulating on social media of the NDC leadership wearing some of this military apparel, nobody will sit back and say that there has been an abuse of the law or somebody is intimidated.
“We wouldn’t want a situation, where tomorrow the NDC is called upon to answer questions, they will start attacking the relevant authorities.”
Isaac Jay Hyde
Six executives of the NDC in the Ashanti Region were on March 29, summoned by the Ashanti Regional Police Command and questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department. The six people were invited, after being seen in viral photos on social media wearing military camouflage, during former President Mahama’s recent campaign tour in the Ashanti Region.
NPP Youth Angry At Police
The irate youth wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), described as unnecessary, the invitation of its National Youth Organiser, Salam Mustapha, by the police for allegedly wearing military camouflage.
Salam, upon reporting himself to the Police, was however accompanied by about 100 members of the youth wing, including some regional and national executives.
In an interview, the Greater Accra Regional Youth Organiser of the NPP, Moses Abor, noted that their presence is to make sure the spirit of Salam Mustapha, is not dampened by the invitation.
“We are telling the police that there is no way they can dampen the spirit of the organiser, who is going to marshal the youth and break the eight. And so, we are going to the CID to commensurate with him because we don’t want them to kill the morale of the leader. We are giving him moral support, and we want him to know that we are solid and this cannot break us, it will rather charge us to break the eight.
“He was not wearing military attire, it was just camouflage he was using, and you could see the tag on the attire he was wearing.”
Moses Abor
