Nana Yaa Jantuah is the former General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP)
A former General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Nana Yaa Jantuah, has expressed her concerns over the recent back-to-back gun-related violent attacks among party elements within the span of just over two weeks.
Reacting to the alleged assassination attempt on Sunday, October 27, 2024, at a campaign event for the Agona West parliamentary candidate, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, Nana Yaa Jantuah described the development as unfortunate, emphasising the alarming trend of private individuals brandishing guns just weeks before the general elections.
Speaking as a panelist on JoyNews’ AM Show, Nana Yaa Jantuah drew comparisons between the latest shooting at Cynthia Mamle Morrison’s campaign event and the Mataheko incident, where supporters of the two dominant parties - NDC and NPP, clashed, resulting in gunshots being fired and injuries to many NDC supporters.
According to her, these incidents are becoming too frequent and unhealthy for the political season of elections.
“I heard Cynthia Mamle Morrison was nearly assassinated and I don’t know how far it’s true. Some of the bullets caught her people on a campaign and this was a clash between the NPP and her group.
“I think it is a bit unfortunate. There was some incident at Mataheko where guns were shot between NPP and NDC supporters. Going into the elections we need to be very careful,” she said.
As an immediate solution to prevent any major violent incidents ahead of the elections, Nana Yaa Jantuah proposed a swoop by the Small Arms Commission to retrieve ammunition from private owners and to take action against individuals who unlawfully carry weapons.
“I think the Small Arms Commission should go round to swoop in and try and get these arms in the hands of private people and deal with it. We cannot afford to go through this because it is becoming one too many and I believe we need to get the guns out of private hands,” she proposed.
She further attributed the low involvement and participation of women in the country’s politics to these alarming violent incidents, explaining that women often feel afraid of potential attacks and being targeted by unscrupulous individuals.
“When these incidents happen, women become afraid to get into politics, meanwhile we have an Affirmative Action Bill that says we should get a certain number of women in our political terrain but if this happens, families will prevent their female relatives to venture into politics.
“We need to be very careful with some of these things and should speak out vociferously against this. We shouldn’t joke with guns in private hands,” she added.
About the attack:
A number of supporters of the independent parliamentary candidate for Agona West, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, were reportedly shot and injured by an unidentified person at Agona Nyakrom in the Central Region.
Reports indicated that the incident occurred on the evening of Sunday, October 27, 2024, during a mini rally, when a sudden power outage affected the area.
The victims are now receiving treatment at the hospital.
Cynthia Mamle Morrison and her team reportedly fled to the police station to report the case.
Some eyewitnesses alleged that the shots were fired by a man in the back of a black campaign vehicle suspected to belong to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate.
"The gun was fired from one of the campaign cars belonging to Chris (NPP Parliamentary candidate). As the car drove past, a young man hit the vehicle repeatedly. The driver stopped and got out, and as the young man who hit the vehicle tried to flee, the man fired the gun but it hit three people who sustained injuries," a male eyewitness narrated to GHOne News Yaw Boagyan.
The Ghana Police Service is yet to comment on the incident.
MAG/AE
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