The Opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, in Upper Manya Krobo Constituency of the Eastern Region is accusing the Asesewa District Police Commander Superintendent John Yeboah of allegedly colluding with the ruling Party -NPP to intimidate and harass its members ahead of the December 7 election.
Addressing the media on Sunday following the arrest of eight (8) members of the party conducting a survey, Spokesperson for the NDC Campaign team in the Constituency Kwesi Lawer said “the Police command in Asesewa, acting on the directive of the top NPP Executives here in Upper Manya Krobo, have arrested the NDC young men and women who have devoted themselves as party faithful and were doing house-to-house campaigning and a survey on political issues here in Upper Manya Krobo constituency based on nothing but vindictiveness and hatred”
The party is questioning the basis for the arrest of its members undertaking political research to inform its campaign strategy.
“Just as any other organizations like the media, students, and the Civil Societies conduct surveys, we in the NDC also have that same right to conduct a survey and that was exactly what we were doing before the needles arrest by the police. We want to ask the police when did conducting research or a survey and campaigning become a crime in Ghana?
“The District Police Command who is said to be acting on the directives of the top NPP executives reluctantly granted our party faithful bail after several hours of being in police custody. The Police Command who is supposed to act professionally per the code of ethics of the service has thrown the laws of the land to the dogs, forgetting that his allegiance is to the state and not the governing party.”
He said, ” We also want the police in Upper Manya to come out publicly with a roadmap which is assuring enough that they are in control of security going into December 7 elections because we are losing confidence in them based on their actions”.
The NDC charged its “members and sympathizers of the NDC in the Upper Manya Krobo Constituency to remain vigilant and security conscious due to what we have seen in Akatawia when our opponents brought cutlasses to intimate us during the voter registration. We haven’t forgotten how some of our party faithful were unfairly transferred, some slapped and beaten at various polling stations by no less a person but the NPP MP Hon. Joseph Tetteh himself”.
“We are also sending a note of advice to the police commander and all errand police officers in the district that, the clock is fast ticking for the tables to turn and the day of accountability will catch up with them soon”.
The persons arrested have however been granted bail.
The Police Commander was unavailable for an interview to hear his side of the story.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com /Obed Ansah
