Otokunor caged 6 hours after leading soldiers to attack sand winners

A member of the ruling NDC Communications Team, Peter Boamah Otokunor, was arrested and detained by the Amasaman Police for six hours.

The NDC communication member, Today learnt, was arrested for allegedly leading soldiers from the Castle to attack sand winners on a land legally given to them by the Paramount Chief of Pampasu Traditional Area, Nana Aponoahene Akapeh.

The incident occurred on Saturday, November 19, 2016 after Peter Otokunor led macho men and soldiers to a land at Pampasu near Teacher Mantey to beat up sand winners, food vendors and others who were struggling for their daily bread without any provocation.

According to an eye witness, Samuel Atsu Forson, who is also a sand winner, Peter Otokunor on that day led four Toyota V8 vehicles branded in NDC colours carrying soldiers and macho men to the site where they were working.

He said he got the hint that some NDC officials were coming to the area, but he ignored the information since he thought they were in the town on their usual campaign tour.

According to the 28-yearold san winner (Samuel Atsu Forson), being an NDC supporter himself, he did not suspect any danger.

“…but they were taken by surprise when the soldiers pounced on them and beat them mercilessly and sacked them from the site, with the explanation that the land belonged to Otokunor and so none of them had the right to encroach on it,” the eye witness narrated.

According to him, the soldiers fired warning shots to scare them, seized the keys to eight of their tipper trucks and also deflated tyres of some of the machines at the site.

He disclosed this in an interview with the press at Sapeiman near Amasaman in Accra.

He pointed out that the soldiers who were wielding guns severely assaulted a number of people including women who were later rushed to the Nsawam General Hospital for treatment after they were given police medical forms.

Moments after the incident had happened, the victims reported to their Chief Togbui Agah Semaglo I, Sapeiman Ewe Community Chief, who caused the immediate arrest of Otokunor, but was bailed after spending six hours in detention.

According him, Otokunor was arrested when he went to Nana Akape’s palace with the intention of calling for an amicable settlement of the matter.

Samuel Atsu Forson also hinted that Otokunor when arrested told the police that he acquired the said land from a certain man when in actual fact the land belonged to the Chief of Pampasu and his elders.

According to Sapeiman Ewe Community Chief, Togbui Agah Semaglo I, who caused the arrest of Otokunor, he was disappointed in Otokunor’s action because the NDC that he (Otokunor) speaks for is a democratic party which does not supports violent actions.

The chief said despite the fact that Otokunor managed to reach out to top NDC officials, some of whom rushed to the police station to bail him, he was made to stay behind bars for six hours to prove to him that nobody is above the law, not even the NDC gurus.

He said it was unfair to treat persons who support and vote for the NDC since the party came into being in 1992 till date with such “wicked and atrocious acts.”

He therefore called on the NDC leadership to call Otokunor to order and condemn such “wicked acts” on its own supporters, saying “The NDC I know and support is not a violent party. We respect our people and expect that the same courtesy is reciprocated to those at the grassroots.”

Togbui Agah Semaglo I said it was not right for Otokunor to use his position as a member of the NDC Communication team to harass individuals no matter their political affiliations, and that, that will not auger well for the country’s democracy.

The chief said he will not base on the incident and condemn the NDC “but it is my wish that these kinds of things do not continue to tarnish the image of the area.”

When Peter Otokunor was contacted on phone by Today he denied the incident saying nothing happened and that he was not arrested.

However, police sources say he was lying and that he was put behind bars and was released on bail at the intervention of some top NDC gurus who came to his rescue.