General Anyidoho’s driver beat me with the butt of a gun – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu recounts 2000 election ordeal

The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has recounted his very bitter experience in the hands of one Sergeant Alhassan, a military driver of Major General (Rtd) Henry Kwame Anyidoho during the 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Speaking in an interview with Okay FM monitored by GhanaWeb, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said he was at the time conducting election monitoring and had received reports of a man transporting ballot papers to some polling stations.

The MP narrates that he at the time had with him a female photojournalist who took a picture of the man when he was arrested with the ballot papers in a black polythene bag.

The said Sergeant Alhassan seized the camera of the journalist and dismantled it. The lawmaker who was not happy with the situation said he tried to question the cause for the action but the only response he received from the said Sergeant Alhassan was a bloody cut on his forehead which was inflicted by the military officer with the butt of his gun.

“She took a picture and the military and police officers pounced on her, knocked the camera down and used their guns to dismantle it. I didn’t understand it so I questioned why they choose to manhandle her for just taking pictures whiles the person caught committing a crime had not been touched.

"Sergeant Alhassan then brought it on me, he used the butt of his gun to hit my head and I got injured on my head.”

The MP revealed that the incident which took place in the then Old-Tafo-Suame Constituency was reported to the police in the area but nothing came out of the investigations.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who described all forms of electoral violence as unacceptable said the Minority's decision to file for a motion calling for investigations on violent incidents recorded in the 2020 elections smacks of hypocrisy.

According to him, there has been similar incidents in previous elections but the Minority’s attitude towards same had been different.