National Chairman of the NDC, Kofi Portuphy
Kofi Portuphy, National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has encouraged members of the party to retaliate and defend themselves if they are attacked by supposed supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, despite several calls on the NPP leadership to caution its supporters, NDC supporters are still being attacked.
There have been several reported cases of violence being allegedly perpetrated by members of the NPP against some members of the NDC, although skeptics believe the supposed attack could be staged by members of the NDC for public sympathy over their massive defeat in the December 7 polls.
The NDC particularly mentioned the case of comedian Ebenezer Osae Aryeh (Wofa K) who claimed that he was attacked by NPP activists.
Pictures of the NDC activist have gone viral on social media with him accusing NPP supporters of assaulting him.
But some NPP activists believe the actor was deceiving the general public just to court attention from President Mahama and some NDC leaders for financial gains.
A family member of Ebenezer Osae Aryeh has told manassehazure.com that photos of his alleged attack are fake.
The comedian, who featured in a number of campaign ads of the governing party, is said to have been attacked after the NPP’s victory.
“I’m 300% sure that the said attack is fake,” the source, who does not want to be named, said.
The family source said, “As far as we are concerned, no attack happened in the house here. And if he was attacked elsewhere and was taken to the hospital, at least one family member would have been called. The first place we saw those pictures was on Facebook.”
The family source said all attempts by family members, including Wofa K’s mother, to get any answers from him regarding the attacks had failed to yield any fruits.
“He would not talk to anybody. He locked himself up in the room and when his mother knocked he would not open. Ask Dela Coffie and those sharing the pictures on Facebook which hospital he was treated. If he was really attacked would he not be in the hospital at least for some time? Why are the photographs not taken at the hospital but in a room somewhere?”
Tit For Tat
At a news conference at the NDC headquarters in Accra yesterday, Portuphy said the party was running out of patience and that if the NPP attacks persisted even after the January 7 hand-over of power, the NDC would be left with no option but to retaliate.
“I am the leader of the party; I am saying if they attack them they should defend themselves while seeking police protection. They should not fold their hands for the NPP to butcher them to death,” he charged.
Roll Call
Cataloguing the supposed attacks on the NDC followers, Mr Portuphy claimed that the NDC parliamentary candidate for Ejisu Juaben in the Ashanti Region, Gloria Hudze, “nearly met her untimely death” after some NPP supporters completely damaged her car.
The Ejisu police have however, denied the report.
Mr. Portuphy continued that Dr. Hannah Louisa Bisiw, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, was also left traumatized after she was attacked and harassed while travelling from Techiman to Accra, insisting that she had to abandon her car.
He said NPP members had raided NADMO headquarters and chased out its National Coordinator, Brigadier General Francis Vib Sanziri, while pro-NDC entertainer, Mzbel, had had to move out of her home for fear of further acts of intimidation.
Portuphy also claimed that NPP supporters had destroyed lights at the recently commissioned Kwame Nkrumah Interchange as the frenzied jubilation continued.
Properties of Sena Okity-Duah, he said, had been destroyed after she lost the Ledzokuku parliamentary seat to NPP’s Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye.
He further listed attacks on the Brazilian contractors and workers who are working on the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange and the alleged killing of an NDC supporter in Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Central Region.
“We cannot move in NDC paraphernalia” the National Chairman, flanked by Deputy (NDC) General Secretary Koku Anyidoho and Director of Elections Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said.
“That is democracy indeed,” he complained.
The NDC chairman warned amidst applause from his backers, “We want to say in very clear and unequivocal terms that anybody who tries this after January 7 will not have it easy with the NDC at all. I lie?”
Blame Game
Mr. Portuphy urged the party supporters to stop blaming the executives of the party for the defeat.
Some angry NDC members disappointed in the party’s defeat have reportedly been attacking some party executives and defeated MPs, who they blame for the party’s defeat.
A video has since gone viral of an angry NDC member who stormed a party office probably to vet his anger on anybody in sight.
He nearly beat up National Youth Organiser of the party, Siidi Abubakar, before Peter Otukunor intervened.
Open Fire
Later in an interaction on Joy FM’s ‘News Night’ yesterday, Kofi Adams defended the order of the party’s chairman.
He said although the police are doing their best, it is not enough.
He quizzed, “If someone is holding a stick and heading to your direction will you allow him to strike you with it?”- adding that the best action would be to react.
Police Speak
Meanwhile, the police administration has entreated the NDC to abandon its decision to retaliate the alleged attacks by supposed NPP supporters on its members.
Superintendent Cephas Arthur, Police PRO, said NDC members who attack persons who harm them would be infringing on the law.
He indicated that the police were in-charge of the situation and had arrested eight persons since the alleged violence started.
“We are on cases like what happened in the Brong-Ahafo Region where some people burnt down toll booth. Some of them have been granted bail after they were arrested,” he disclosed.
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com