George Mireku Duker
A member of the Tarkwa-Nsuaem branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Western Region is alleged to have incurred the wrath of the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, George Mireku Duker.
The MP, DAILY GUIDE has gathered, was offended by a statement by the party member, Kofi Nimako Danquah, made on an NPP youth WhatsApp platform.
Mr Duker subsequently caused the arrest of Kofi Nimako Danquah over the alleged statement on the WhatsApp group.
Confirming the arrest to journalists, the Tarkwa Divisional Police Commander, ACP Edmund Ohene Bosompim, explained that the MP lodged a complaint that the suspect insulted him on WhatsApp.
He added that the case was investigated and the suspect was charged with offensive conduct contrary to Section 207 (1) of Act 1960 and was hauled before the Tarkwa District Court.
Some party members DAILY GUIDE contacted were tight-lipped on what exactly the accused person reportedly said that infuriated the MP.
But a source in the constituency indicated that as the accused and other persons were teasing themselves on the WhatsApp platform, one Kesse, believed to be a relative of the MP, asserted that Nimako Danquah had been sleeping with women and giving them public toilets to manage.
The comment, according to the source, angered the accused, who also decided to write something to hit Kesse, alleging he (accused) has evidence that Kesse’s brother, the MP, had been involved in a murder case.
But Kesse did not take the statement lightly and informed the MP, who reported Nimako Danquah to the police.
During hearing last Thursday, the court, presided over by Jonathan Desmond Nunoo, denied a plea by a former NPP constituency treasurer, Daniel Kofi Dwumah, to settle the case out of court.
He indicated that the case before him was criminal in nature and could not be settled out of court.
The case was adjourned to Thursday, April 19 after counsel for the accused wrote to the court announcing his absence until the adjourned date.
This was after the accused was granted bail in the sum of GH¢1,000 with one surety.
Later in an interview, the former NPP constituency treasurer said the court action has the tendency to adversely affect the electoral fortunes of the party in the constituency in the next general elections.
He added, “I did not know about this case. I came to the court to follow up on a personal matter only to meet this problem.
“I must say that if things are going out like this in the constituency, then I definitely believe NPP may not win the 2020 elections. I am very surprised a WhatsApp chat can get us to this level.”
He continued, “If all presidents of Ghana were to sue Ghanaians over insults on them, then they would have taken many Ghanaians to court.”
Another NPP sympathizer stated, “This precedent is certainly not good at all. We are already fighting to convince the thousands of mine workers who have been sacked from Tarkwa Gold Fields that it is not the doings of the government.”
“Do you come to add this that the Member of Parliament is arresting his own party members over insults on WhatsApp?”
Commenting on the issue in an interview with Takoradi-based Skyy Power FM, Kweku Nimako, a brother of the accused, asserted that his brother and the MP used to be close friends during the 2016 electioneering campaign.
“But all of a sudden, the friendship has collapsed may be due to some misunderstanding. My brother was accused of giving his girlfriend a KVIP in the vicinity to man.”
“That did not go down well with my brother who might have said something which has hurt the MP. In fact, we are ready to apologize but what the MP is doing is mere hatred,” Kweku Nimako was reported to have said.
Efforts to get the MP to comment on the matter were not successful, as he was said to have travelled to India on official duties.
NPP To React
Meanwhile, DAILY GUIDE has gathered that the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Constituency branch of the NPP will hold a press conference today to address the issues, among others.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi