Opposition Wins Osu Castle Constituency

There are many surprises in Elections 2000. Many big NDC politicians have fallen in their bid to retain their parliamentary seats in the city of Accra. Amongst the most remarkable are Nii Okaija Adamafio of Odododiodio and David Lamptey, who failed to hold the constituency, which houses the seat of government in Osu.

In the elections of 1996 one of the reasons for the extra energy and money pumped into the campaign for the Klottey Korley constituency by the NDC was the fear of seeing the NPP win the constituency which houses the Castle. It was therefore not surprising that the NDC candidate, David Lamptey, had all the support he needed to have the figures worked on to ensure that the wish of the party prevailed. Bags of rice to Muslims, promises of free passage to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj and many other goodies were at his beck and call just to win the seat. At the end of it the NDC managed to keep the seat with the additional help of the ill-fated Great Alliance.

Not so in Election 2000 as the new landlord of the constituency, Mr. Adu Mantey of the NPP has taken over the constituency. The outgoing occupant of the seat of government, Mr. Jerry Rawlings must occupy the place until his term is finally up. For now he has to depend on the hospitality of the NPP who it is hoped will do all they can to make the few days remaining for the man to be there memorable. It will be recalled that in 1957 shortly after independence when the late Dr. Nkrumah took residence at the Castle or Government House as it was sometimes called, he was received by the then Osu Mantse, Nii Dowuono who assured him of the hospitality of the Osu people.

David Lamptey whose fall led to this twist of fate presents a sad story. He crossed over from the NPP to the NDC where he wormed himself to the hearing distance of the policymakers of the party. His ability to spend a lot of money on party supporters especially those with the propensity to be violent soon won him a place in the party. He made headline news when he could not agree with the late Tei Okunor in the constituency, a situation which caused his alienation by a lot of people in the Osu area.

When Election 2000 was barely two months away he got his name muddled up in so much electoral malfeasance that it was surprising that he was not picked up by the Police. A few mosques were treated to his largesse as he bought for them public address systems and showered them with "goodwill".

He is credited with the coining of the 'eye zu eye za' slogan of the NDC. So much did he invest in the current elections that he found it difficult to countenance other parties in the constituency. Last Thursday was not a pleasant day for David Lamptey. Unlike the Election Day of 1996 when jubilation greeted the announcement of the results of his constituency this one was different. According to a resident when the sad news of the seat falling to the NPP came, he was so broken that he collapsed and at the time of filing this report he was still confined to a hospital bed. His main liaison man in the Tudu area of the constituency, one Osumanu is also reported to have fallen ill. For some it is time to relish the sweet taste of victory while to others it is time to suppress the tears especially after taunting their political adversaries.

The irony of fate has caught up with David Lamptey and Jerry Rawlings. It will take the benevolence of an NPP landlord to see them off with dignity, or if the landlord is vindictive, he can decide to sweep them off with disdain. The vengeance of history is indeed more terrible than any mortal's vengeance