DCE denies slapping NCCE Director

Mr. Benjamin Kwadwo Anokye, District Chief Executive of Afram Plains on Monday denied slapping Mr John Ayisi, District Director of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE).

He said, "the publication was an attitude from a mindset that has decided to trade the truth on the altar of political expediency, therefore, the National Media Commission and the Board of Directors of the New Times Corporation have a major task to bring sanity and decorum at the Evening News".

Mr Anokye made the denial at a press conference in Accra to react to a publication in the November 26 edition of the Evening News under the headline " DCE Slaps NCCE Official. Police interrogate him".

He said, " The story is false as well as highly distorted either to cause disaffection or create unnecessary sensation."

"I have never slapped Mr Ayisi as the story claimed nor was I arrested and detained by the police at Donkorkrom", he added.

Mr Anokye said the Assembly has a bye-law that, "Any animal found roaming on the farms and compounds of other people will be shot at by members of the Unit Committee and the owner made to pay for the cost of the bullet used."

He said the bye-law was enacted because most of the inhabitants at Koranteng Krachi were Dagartis who rear animals while the Krachis were food crop farmers.

"This bye-law if not interpreted well could end up in an ethnic conflict between the Dargartis and Krachis and create security problems in the District," he said.

Narrating the incident, Mr Anokye said there was a strayed pig and a member of the Unit committee shot at it.

The DCE said the pig belonged to a Dagarti citizen who went to the district capital at Donkorkrom, brought four policemen and two officials of the NCCE to Koranteng Krachi.

He said they summoned members of the Unit Committee to an arbitration and fined them 600,000 cedis and an additional 60,000 cedis as fuel for the policemen.

Mr Anokye said the Unit Committee later reported the issue to him therefore; he summoned all the parties involved to a meeting at his office at Donkorkrom on October 31.

He said at the meeting, when Mr Ayisi was asked whether the Assembly's bye-law contradicted the NCCE law and informed him (Ayisi) on allegations that he (Ayisi) was involved in collecting illegal monies from the inhabitants on stray animals and he became annoyed.

"Mr Ayisi on hearing this, got up and started creating commotion in my office and in the process spat in my face. I asked him on several occasions to leave the office but the more I ordered him the more he shouted."

"At this stage I got up from my seat and tried to push him but he moved back, then he started shouting 'he has slapped me, 'he has slapped me' ".

Mr Anokye said there was no body contact between them and expressed surprise at what Mr Ayisi did.

He appealed to the Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council to investigate the issue and the motive of Mr Ayisi.

The DCE called on the media to investigate issues and publish balanced stories for the public.