NPP, NDC clash dangerous – Irbard Ibrahim

The bloody clash between some supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) should be condemned, security analyst Irbard Ibrahim has said.

He has called on the country’s law enforcement agencies to be more proactive in disbanding vigilante groups of political parties as the Inspector General of Police has promised to do.

This follows claims by the Central regional arm of the NDC that some members of the party at Ajumako Besease on Saturday, October 1, were violently attacked by thugs they suspect to be members of the NPP.

One NDC member lost an eye and three supporters of the NPP ended up with stab wounds. Mr Irbard believed some level of success had been achieved by the police but he further called for more intensive measures to root out political warmongers as he believed the Besease incident “might have taken a well-planned and well-executed strategy”.

“What became of the disbandment of quasi-military groups in political parties? The incident over the weekend raises concerns yet again about some of these groups,” he stated during an interview with Prince Minkah on Class FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Monday October 3.

“If a few people can coordinate and stoke this level of violence, then it raises issues for concern,” he noted, as political activity towards the 2016 elections in December.

The Regional Communications Officer of the party, Kwesi Dawood, said a known activist of the NPP, Rasta, stabbed an NDC officer, Samuel Asare, in the right eye. Another NPP activist also used an offensive weapon to knock him down.

“With blood oozing from his eye, Asare passed out instantly. The family and friends of Samuel Asare identified the perpetrator of the unprovoked attack on their relation as the driver of Mr J. N. Okyere, who is the Managing Director of Comptran Engineering & Planning Associates and Chairman of the NPP's Central Regional Finance Committee,” he recounted.

He accused the NPP for starting the violence as he indicated that members of the NDC were announcing an upcoming keep fit exercise slated for Sunday October 3 when some NPP thugs pounced on them.

But Kwamena Duncan, the NPP’s Central Regional Secretary, accused Mr Dawood of peddling lies.

According to him, “Some constituency officers and the parliamentary aspirant of the party were having a meeting in a private home owned by the chairman of the Council of Elders of the constituency, who doubles as the Chairman of the Regional Finance Committee, Mr Otchere”.

He said the meeting had almost ended when the “NDC decided to go right in front of Mr Otchere’s house with a loud [sound] system and was just making noise making it difficult for anyone who was in the environment to have their peace of mind”.

He explained: “Boys from Mr Otchere’s house approached the NDC supporters to let them know that their father was at a meeting and pleaded with them to lower the volume or give them private space.

“They left and after about 10 minutes a whole bunch of hoodlums brandishing very offensive weapons like cutlasses and so on came to this residence without any provocation.”

According to him the NDC supporters were screaming abuses, with some chants suggesting Mr Otchere’s throat should be slit.

“Mr Otchere rushed upstairs of his storey building and the rest of the boys came out of the house to find out what was happening and that was when they met their waterloo,” he narrated.

According to him, the NPP members were attacked “with many having abrasions on their bodies with one person sustaining deep cutlass wounds”.

He indicated that the injured were sent to the Ajumako Government Hospital, treated, and later discharged.

“Officials of the party later reported the case to the police,” he added.