Mahama must take full responsibility for Kumasi NDC killing – Lecturer

Renowned Lecturer at the University of West London, Dr Aboagye Da Costa wants former president Mahama to take full responsibility for the shooting incident at the National Democratic Congress head office in Kumasi Monday since he rejected the wise counsel from the National Peace Council, civil society groups and men of God who are vocal about socio-political happenings in the country, MyNewsGh.com reports.

Former president Mahama described these “opinion leaders” in the country as hypocrites after they critique his boot for boot comments and asked him to apologise.

In an exclusive interview with MyNewsGh.com, Dr Da Costa noted that the former president made an error for refusing to apologise when Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante called on him to express regret to the nation for saying the NDC will match the NPP boot-for-boot with violence in the 2020 polls.

“Mr Mahama should have listened to the wise counsel from the National Peace Council and others, because today these institutions are vindicated looking at the boot for boot violence unleashed on NDC members where one person died and two sustained injuries after gunshots in a meeting between the National Chairman, The General Secretary, a Deputy General Secretary and the Regional Executive Committee at the party’s Ashanti Regional office in Kumasi on Monday”, he said.

Dr Da Costa was of the view that the advisors of the former president were weak and must sit up because Mr. Mahama would have done himself and the NDC a lot of good, if they had advised him to apologise immediately after his comments and also not to have allowed him to peddle falsehood to diplomats to discredit himself and nation.

“Maybe if Mr Mahama had apologised, these gunshots would not have happened amidst the chaos”. He added.

Meanwhile, the Former President has called for the immediate arrest of the suspects involved in the Kumasi shooting incident during an NDC meeting that led to the killing of one person and another critically injured. Mr. Mahama made the call in a Facebook post saying emphatically that “I have just been briefed about a shooting incident that occurred in front of the Ashanti Regional Office of the NDC leading to the death of one person and injury to another.

I strongly condemn this incident. It is clearly a criminal act, and I call on the police and relevant security agencies to investigate, immediately apprehend the culprits and subject them to the full rigours of the law”

Dr Dacosta, however, believed that condemning and calling on the police to act by Mr Mahama is not enough and a true reflection of the former president’s actions and pronouncements especially where he has emphatically called on NDC members to unleash violence on Ghanaians and peddled falsehood to diplomats.

“The former president and NDC presidential hopeful recently said the party was ready to meet opponents ‘boot for boot’, and it appears what happened yesterday was as a result of his direct call of the boot for boot comments, maybe in preparation for the 2020 polls. Mr Mahama must therefore take responsibility for the gunshots and offer to the nation a sincere apology” He noted.