The New Patriotic Party (NPP) claims that the Ghana Police Service wrongfully detained some of its agents and members during the ongoing by-elections in Assin North.
Leading NPP figures got into a heated dispute with the police. This includes the party’s general secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua (JFK), the deputy majority leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, and private attorney Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko.
According to reports, one of the police officers could be heard pleading with the NPP leaders to remain calm. He declared, “We are really busy trying to maintain law and order for this operation.”
However, JFK was heard complaining that NPP members were being detained by the police in their strongholds.
“But the law and order should be fair, it is going against our people. Our agent has been arrested, three of our supporters have also been arrested. And the sad thing is all this tension is happening in the stronghold of the NPP… how come in all our strongholds they are having issues there. Is that deliberate?”
Justin Frimpong Kodua
According to reports, the police have so far detained two individuals who were impersonating security personnel.
As pockets of violence are visible in some areas of the constituency, the parliamentary by-election in Assin North is growing tense.
George Opare Addo, the National Youth Organiser, for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who is popularly known as Pablo, had his car vandalized at one of the polling stations, so he has experienced some of this violence.
Pablo’s V8 had one of its windows completely broken with both the front and back windscreen screens cracked. Uncertainty surrounds the attack’s origins, but the NDC youth organizer spoke with police at the polling station about it.
Former AG Shocked With Akufo-Addo’s Comments On Gyakye Quayson
Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong expressed her dismay at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s statement that the residents of Assin North had no use for a member of parliament being imprisoned.
While speaking at one of the polling stations for the ongoing Assin North by-election, Brew Appiah-Oppong said the remarks which were made by the President were unpleasant. She stated she expected more from the President who is a lawyer by profession.
Given that the case is still pending in court and is quite concerning, she claimed that President Akufo-Addo’s remarks were damaging.
“The first question I asked myself when I heard this comment was… how did he know he (Quayson) was going to go to jail? Secondly, it was surprising that coming from a very seasoned lawyer (Akufo-Addo) to make such a statement. And I think it was unacceptable.”
Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong
On Sunday, June 27, 2023, at a Church of Pentecost in the district, Akufo-Addo addressed citizens of Assin North and denied claims that he and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government were responsible for the prosecution of the expelled MP.
He explained to the populace that Gyakye Quayson was being caught up in national legislation. In response to assertions by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that Mr. Quayson would be voted for even if he is arrested, the President said that it is pointless to vote for an MP who is going to be imprisoned.
READ ALSO: Assin North By-Election: Shots Fired During By-Election
