NDC Begs Fetish Priest

…With Ram, Cash, Schnapps

The top hierarchy of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which accompanied party founder, Jerry John Rawlings on his campaign mission to Nkoranza North constituency last Sunday, found itself performing an unexpected role when the party had to march to the shrine of the Ntoa deity, bearing a number of items to pacify a fetish priest who had been beaten up by party thugs.

The attack on the fetish priest, coming barely a month after the party had engaged the services of fetish priests in Keta, in the Volta Region to rain curses on the ruling government, left the party with no option but to go on its knees to pacify the gods.

The fetish priest of the Ntoa deity suffered his fate from the NDC thugs after shouting the New Patriotic Party (NPP) slogan when Rawlings was still in the Nkoranza North constituency, campaigning for Dr Kofi Amoako-Gyampah, the party’s candidate in today’s by-election.

A final rally which climaxed NDC’s activities in its bid to capture the seat vacated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP, Eric Amoateng, who is being held in a Brooklyn detention centre in New York, USA, was marred with the assault on the fetish priest, news of which soon spread like wildfire in the harmattan season.

With the wrath of no mean a person than the fetish priest of the dreaded Ntoa deity, the National Organiser of NDC, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, organised himself and rushed to the home of the fetish priest to plead for intercession. The party chief was made to slaughter a sheep, offer two bottles of schnapps and ¢200,000 cash to Ntoa, whose representative was the victim of the assault.

The constituency was declared vacant after the voluntary resignation of MP Amoateng who is being held in the US over a narcotic related case.

So tense was the atmosphere at the Nkoranza North constituency that it took the intervention of security agents stationed in the town to bring the situation under control.

The atmosphere in Nkoranza was really tense last weekend when former President Jerry John Rawlings led a team of NDC apparatchiks, including party flagbearer, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills and others on a mission to convince the people to vote for their candidate.

President John Agyekum Kufuor also stormed the constituency to campaign for his party’s candidate, Major (rtd) Derrick Oduro. The NDC flagbearer, who had pitched camp at the Techiman Dery Hotel, was the first to land in the constituency during which he visited the various communities in the company of national and regional officers of the party. He made whistle stopovers at towns and villages, campaigning for the party’s 31-year-old Dr. Amoako-Gyampoh.

When he took his turn to sell their candidate, Mr. Ofosu Ampofo urged the supporters to come out today to vote for Dr. Amoako-Gyampoh to prove to the NPP that their days were over. At Busunya, Mr. Ampofo called on NDC supporters to be vigilant and avoid complacency in today’s polls. A visibly tired Prof Mills spoke little at the rallies.

When President Kufuor descended on the towns on Saturday before flying out to Britain to meet Queen Elizabeth II today, he had in his company several MPs and national executive officers of the party among others. He was welcomed to the town by thousands of party supporters who walked from various locations in the constituency to catch a glimpse of him.

The President entreated the people to vote for the NPP candidate, Major Oduro, because as he put it, “wherever you see an elephant, its baby stands besides it.”

Continuing, he said a baby goat could not stand beside a she-elephant, so the people of Nkoranza North should vote for Major Oduro so that the good work begun by Eric Amoateng would be continued.

When Former President Rawlings went round on Sunday with the NDC team, he told party supporters that a vote for the NDC candidate was a vote for dignity and progress and cautioned them against voting for the NPP.

Dr. Amoako-Gyampoh, the NDC candidate appealed to all eligible voters to approve his candidature by voting massively for him. A medical practitioner by profession, he made the appeal during a press conference on his vision and plans for the constituency. The Democratic People’s Party (DPP) is also contesting the seat with Osei Bonsu, popularly called Amotin Burger as its candidate. The NDC’s encounter with a fetish priest in Nkoranza was the second within a spate of a month or so.

The first was when the party sought the services of fetish priests in the Volta Region to cast the Adaklu-type of hernia and measles on NPP’s top hierarchy for what, for them, was the party’s hand in jailing the Keta MP, Dan Kwasi Abodakpi.

Hon Abodakpi was convicted for defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss of $400,000 to the state and is currently serving a 10-year jail term at the Nsawam Medium Prisons.