NPP sympathizers beat up party agents

Kukurantumi (E/R), June 19, GNA - The division within the Abuakwa North Constituency Branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took a violent turn last Tuesday when alleged sympathizers of the Member of Parliament for the constituency, Professor Samuel K. Amoako, attacked agents of the party at some registration centres within the constituency.

The attackers claimed that their victims were not appointed by the party and therefore should leave the registration centres at Kukurantumi, New Tafo and Osiem.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Ibrahim Mohaed, NPP agent at the Kukurantumi Ahenbronu Registration centre and a victim of the attack, said he was at the centre when a group of party supporters in a bus came and enquired about the NPP representative at the place.

He said when he owned up, the group tried to snatch the notebook he was using to record events at the centre and asked him to leave the place because he was not appointed by them.

Mr Mohammed said he refused to surrender the notebook and one of the members of the group started struggling with him over the notebook, while the other beat him up resulting in the tearing up of the notebook. He said one of the members of the group also destroyed his mobile phone while another tore his shirt in the course of the struggle, and he lost GHC 90 that was in his pocket.

Mr Mohammed said he reported the incident to the police together with the names of those who attacked him because he knew all as activists of the party at Kukurantumi.

Police Chief Inspector Kwame Asumeng of the Kukurantumi Police station confirmed that the two NPP registration officials at the two centres at Kukurantumi had made a report of attack on them. He said the police had so far arrested five suspects in the case and granted them bail and would be forwarding the docket to the Divisional Headquarters at New Tafo for further action.

Reacting to the incident, the NPP Constituency Chairman of the party, Mr Douglas Martin Asare, said the agents of the party at all the registration centres in the constituency were appointed by the constituency executive of the party, and he did not understand why they should be attacked.

He said similar attacks were made at New Tafo and Osiem and all the cases had been reported to the police in the various towns and communities. Mr Asare called for discipline within the ranks of the party and urged the Eastern Regional Executive of the party to take keen interest in the matter and ensure that all those who had broken the party's regulations be made to suffer the consequences.

Registration Officers at the centres at Kukurantumi told the GNA that the attacks did not affect the on-going registration. The Eastern Regional Electoral Officer, Mr Paul Boateng, also confirmed that reports that he had received indicated that, the attacks did not affect the registration exercise at any centre within the constituency. 19 June 10