Stop making "lies" on your armed bandits – from Kwakye Ofosu to Budu Koomson

General News of Saturday, February 2, 2019

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

2019-02-02

Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Deputy Minister of Communications of the former government of John Dramani Mahama, described as "lies" the remarks made by the retired army chief, Captain Budu Koomson, at Effect that the security personnel who had gone to the residence of the NDC candidate, Delali Kwesi Brempong did so on the basis of previous information.

Captain Koomson, during his presentation at Joynews' press release, said that according to information from his sources, armed security personnel who had escorted Mr. Brempong's residence had done after being informed that there were weapons, ammunition and armed personnel before that date. polls.

He further noted that the exchange of gunfire, according to information available to him, had begun after men, dressed in brown and apparent members of the Anti-Terrorist Unit (UCT), were be denied entry into the house upon their arrival. From there, he said, tensions accumulated that ultimately resulted in exchanges of fire and violence.

"On the question of command and control, apparently, there was exploitable intelligence coming from them, that there were weapons, ammunition and people who had gathered at the candidate's home."

"The Anti-Terrorist Cell (CTU), these guys in brown, it's unfortunate that their cover is so broken, is actually part of the SWAT team. According to them, they had useful information on the fact that there were weapons, ammunition and personnel in this house … the tension had begun to build. When these men arrived home, they were denied entry and one thing resulted in another, and then that exchange of fire, "he told Newsfile's host on Saturday. , Samson Anyenini.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu disagrees, however, with Mr Koomson's comments.

Describing the remarks as "partisans", he claimed that the statements were "made by the NPP as a pretext to use their armed bandits" to intimidate their competitors.

"Budu Koomson is an agent of the known nuclear power plant. His claim that the station's thugs had relied on information regarding the burying of stocks or weapons near Delali Brempong's residence is an unfounded lie. The NPP fabricated this claim as a pretext for using its armed bandits to terrorize and intimidate NDC members in the by-election. The media too must do more than present partisan elements as independent badysts, "he wrote in an article.

Context

On January 31, 2019, members of the armed security forces shot at the residence of a NDC parliament candidate in the constituency of Ayawaso West Wuogon.

The incident, which occurred near the polling place, shook the nerves and created chaos in the center.

Sam Nartey George, Ningo Prampram's Member of Parliament, also received heavy slaps from men in physical attacks when he protested the events at his candidate's office.

Thirteen party members were wounded and were taken to Legon Military Hospital and 37 military hospitals. Because of the events, the NDC withdrew from the race.

The NDC and the NPP held press conferences to address the problem and calm their angry supporters.

The police also intervened to clear the air, claiming that there were no deaths and confirming that all the injured had been released. The EC, on Friday, ironically stated that the polls were peaceful, confirming that there were no anomalies in the polling stations. According to her, the security personnel were not implored by the commission and, for them, the polls were free and fair.

Of course, some civil groups, parties, MPs condemned this act and called on the government to intervene accordingly.

Then there were the 'revolutionary' comments of former President John Mahama who brought a new face to the problem. He warned the NPP to be cautious about the revolutionary context of the NDC. Many of them, including the Peace Council, have since condemned his statements and described them as instigating and irresponsible.