Armed Police Officers, NPP Executive Beat Assembly Member Over DCE Confirmation

On Sunday, October 3, 2021, there was mayhem in Akyem Achiase in the Eastern region during the second confirmation of the District Chief Executive (DCE) nominee for the area.

Assemblymember Daniel Yeboah of the Dwirase Anamase Voting Area was brutally assaulted by armed police officials for demanding openness in the electoral process.

As a result, the assembly member was injured and taken to the Oda government hospital.

Assembly member Daniel Yeboah, speaking to Kasapa News from his hospital bed, stated that Assembly members unexpectedly got letters on Saturday calling them to convene for the second confirmation exercise of the DCE nominee on Sunday, October 3, 2021.

This came after the renominated DCE, Richmond Kofi Amponsah, who is the Dean of Municipal and District Chief Executives in the Eastern region, was unable to achieve two-thirds of the votes cast during the initial confirmation exercise on September 27, 2021, with 13 out of 22 valid votes cast.

The second election, according to the Assembly Member, was held in a “secluded” location rather than the Assembly’s conference hall, causing him and other Assembly members concern. However, he and other Assembly members were heckled by one Francis Gyan, a deputy Eastern Regional Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party, who was present and attempted to throw him out of the venue, which he resisted.

He claimed that the deputy Regional Organizer and some armed police officers who had been transported to the site from an undisclosed location attacked and brutally beaten him just as he went out to make a phone call.

“An elected Assembly member expressed concern about the lack of space in the venue where the election was held, as well as the lack of light and the heat, and recommended that we move to the Assembly’s conference hall, which is where such gatherings are held. This is agreed upon. But then armed cops barged in and tried to drag me out, which I fought, causing commotion, but the Regional Minister intervened and all was well.”

He went on to say that “I stepped out to make a phone call when the Regional Deputy Organizer approached me and accused me of accepting a bribe of Ghc4000, after which he beat me. Armed police jumped on me, slapped me, kicked me in the abdomen, and even struck me in the eyes with a blow. They ripped my clothing, handcuffed me, and seized my phone. As a result, I was airlifted to the hospital.”

The assembly member “suffered many lesion,” according to a medical report signed by Dr. Asante Isaac Adjei, a Medical Officer at Oda Government Hospital. With many abrasions on the hands, the left side of the cheek was swelled and discolored (alleged to have been from handcuffed ). Tenderness of the Supra pubic area is discovered during an abdominal examination.

No arrest has been made.

Meanwhile, the DCE nominee Richmond Kofi Amponsah polled 15 Yes votes out of 22 valid votes cast to secure confirmation.