Blame Police for Nima clashes – Mahama

President John Mahama has blamed the Nima Police for the clashes that ensued between supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and security guards at the residence of the largest opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Flagbearer, Nana Akufo Addo.

There was chaos at the Nima residence of Nana Akufo Addo Sunday morning after an NDC group clashed with security personnel guarding the former Attorney General’s home.

The NDC supporters who were on a Regional health walk upon reportedly upon reaching the residence of Nana Akufo Addo, unprovoked, started throwing stones and bottles at the house.

The action by the NDC group was met with fierce resistance as bodyguards of the three-time Presidential candidate sensing danger responded with warning shots, dispersing the NDC crowd in the process.

Some NPP supporters who heard of the incident also rushed to Nana Akufo Addo’s residence to offer backup for the security detail who reports said were being overpowered by the milling crowd.

The Nima Police intervened to restore law and order.

Addressing labour unions in Accra Tuesday, Mr. Mahama said the Police should have been proactive to ensure that the unfortunate incident was avoided.

“Only last Saturday we almost had a clash which was unfortunate, if any of those firearms had been fired and someone had dropped dead it would have been a completely different story. I think we should be preventive enough in our actions to prevent such things…I think that the police at Nima should have been better briefed knowing that this group was passing through and then we should have taken appropriate safeguards to ensure that such a thing doesn’t happen,” he said.

Meanwhile, the United States government has condemned the brewing political violence in Ghana, especially the most recent that saw the home of the main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo being attacked by NDC protesters.

A statement from the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy of the USA in Accra, said: “We encourage all political parties to make it clear to their constituents that any violence or attempts to use intimidation to disrupt the democratic process is unacceptable.”