Joseph Yamin and Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh
A leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh has been quizzed by the police in connection with the deadly shootings by vigilantes in the party on Monday in Kumasi.
DAILY GUIDE learnt that another top party official in the Ashanti Region Joseph Yamin, who was being sought for questioning over the Hawks’ deadly attack on a rival vigilante grouping, the Taskforce, in the regional capital, turned himself in later yesterday.
Yamin, a former deputy minister of Youth and Sports, who lives at Kotwi, near Santanse in Kumasi, is believed to be behind the creation and sustenance of the Hawks, was on the run for some hours.
A team of policemen, which went to his residence, found the house locked, with the man nowhere to be found.
All his phones were not going through.
However, at about 5pm he reportedly turned himself in for interrogation by the police.
Over a dozen or so policemen were involved in the arrest of Yamoah Ponkoh, a former Chief Executive of Ejisu-Juaben Municipality.
Some of them joined him in his own car, as others rode in service vehicles in a subtle operation.
He was asked to drive to the Regional Police Headquarters where upon arrival he fielded an assortment of questions pertaining to the shooting at the NDC Regional Headquarters at Amakom.
He was picked up from his Adako Jachie residence, near Fumesua, and as at press time he was still being interrogated.
Yamin Factor
Yamin lost the last primary of the party to lead the NDC in the Ashanti Region, and has since been a bitter man in the face of an unshaken loyalty from his Hawks, who are ready to protect his interests.
The former deputy sports minister reportedly runs what can be described as a parallel NDC Office in the region, and the no-love lost relationship with the new executives hit a crescendo last Monday, claiming a life.
He is a man the police are interested in, as they delve into the murder of Wasihu Idris and the criminal firing of gunshots at the party’s regional headquarters.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu, who wants to deal with the vigilante menace in local politics, is said to have showed an unrestricted interest in the case and therefore tasked his officers to deal with the subject as swiftly as possible.
Last week, the Chief Constable hosted a media encounter at the police headquarters during which he announced a zero tolerance for vigilantism.
He was joined by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Lt. Gen. Obed Boamah Akwa in the resolve to address the vigilantism menace head on.
Abortive Machination
Details emerging from the aftermath of the deadly shooting incident show clearly how the NDC attempted, rather abortively, to implicate the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the shooting.
It was a radio interaction between some party persons which aborted the NDC project.
Abu, a brother of the man, who perished in the Hawks’ attack, called Kwame Zu, a lecturer at the Kumasi Technical University, who is the NDC’s Regional Secretary, to complain about the gruesome murder of Wasihu.
In his bid to calm the distraught Abu, Kwame Zu unwittingly let out too much about those behind the murder when he said “calm down; we know those behind it and will have them arrested.”
When the distraught Abu confronted Kwame Zu for saying on radio that it was not the Hawks who were behind the dastardly act when everybody knew it was them, the Regional Secretary said “it was national (NDC Headquarters in Accra) that said we should not say it was the Hawks.”
The party’s General Secretary initially appeared to push the blame on the NDC’s opponents when he tried to parry the Hawks’ link.
Sammy Gyamfi, who is the NDC’s Communication Director, former Propaganda Secretary, also sent a message to Asempa FM’s Ekosisen programme, claiming the NPP was behind it.
When the chips were eventually down and they could no longer proceed with the smear project, the narrative altered with the party scribe, saying that “whether hawks or vultures the police should deal with them.”
By A.R. Gomda