Deputy finance minister breaks silence on his pistol-pulling incident

Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Stephen Amoah, has broken his silence on the circumstances that led to him pulling a gun during a visit to Atasomanso, a community within his constituency in the Ashanti Region.

The deputy minister, who is also a Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso Constituency, explained that he drew his pistol in self-defence after some constituents allegedly threatened him with a gun. Dr. Amoah had gone to the community to campaign when the incident occurred.

The youth of Atasomanso had reportedly demanded updates on the completion of an Astroturf pitch being constructed in the area by their MP. They confronted Dr. Amoah, pressing him for details about the delayed project.

Speaking on the incident in an interview on TV3 monitored by GhanaWeb, the MP said he pulled his pistol in self-defence because he felt his life was in danger when the constituent directed his gun at him.

"I was returning from a programme [rally] that I was invited to attend, and I saw them gathering in front of one shop. So I had to go there and talk to them. Then, one of them, presumably their leader, raised a concern about the delayed astroturf project in the community.

"Initially, he was a little bit angry, and I was like, Oh, it is not my fault; it is the fault of the contractor and myself; I am not happy about it. Then he understood me; he asked me for money, and I gave him money.

"Before I boarded my car, a number of them came to me. Initially, I thought it was a positive heckling, you know, politically. And then somebody pulled me, and the pull was not anything that was palatable, and I nearly fell.

"So, I turned, and then I saw the guy move a few meters and point a gun, a real gun, at me. It was a pistol. The way he held it, you could see that he was a young boy who had been trained. So I pulled my own, and I looked at his first finger after the thumb and saw that it was not moving, because I am trained. Anybody with a pistol, once he points the pistol at you and sees his finger after the gun move, then he is ready to shoot. He didn't do that and run away, and I also went my way."

.There has been a recent craze among Kumasi youth, who have been excitedly playing with toy pistols in recent days—a development the police service has warned against. But Dr. Amoah has rejected suggestions that what was pointed at him was a toy gun.

"People are changing the story like, Oh, it was a toy gun. Have we forgotten about J.B. Dankwah? Have we forgotten about our own brother, Major Mahama? Have we forgotten about the Mfantsepim MP? Where are they? Sometimes, I find it very disturbing when people want to trivialise issues such as this. Thanks be to God, I am alive, and that is the most important thing."

KA

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