The Police at the scene of the incidence
One person has reportedly lost his life, with another in a critical condition after two factions within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) clashed at the Ashanti regional party office in a ‘boot for boot’ fashion as prescribed by former President John Mahama.
The incident is said to have occurred when the National Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia and the Regional Executive Committee met at the office to settle issues between the factions.
All the party officers took cover when the bullets started flying, leaving the foot-soldiers behind.
The NDC vigilante group, the Hawks, is believed to have been involved in the shooting.
The party has confirmed the death of one person but blamed the shooting on unidentified gunmen on motorbikes.
But an eyewitness account monitored on Joy FM said the killers are known members of the NDC Hawks.
The former president and NDC presidential hopeful recently said the party was ready to meet opponents ‘boot for boot’, and it appears what happened today was a dress rehearsal.
DGN Online’s sources in the Ashanti regional capital said blood stains were visible at the scene of the shooting.
Confirming the incidence, the Ashanti Regional Police Command said a team of officers were deployed to restore law and order.
“We had information that there has been a shooting incidence at the NDC regional head office in Kumasi. So we dispatched some men here and indeed they confirmed that it is true,” ACP Kwaku Buah, Divisional Police Commander, stated.
“Two people have been shot. Their names have been given to us but because we have not been able to get in touch with their family members, we can’t put out their names. As we speak now they have been taken to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Secretariat of the NDC has expressed regret at the shooting saying, “the regrettable incident occurred while a meeting between the National Chairman, the General Secretary, a Deputy General Secretary and the Regional Executive Committee were ongoing. Some men on motorbike wielding guns attacked a gathering outside, short indiscriminately and sped off.”
The statement signed by the NDC Regional Secretary, Kwame Zu, further indicated, “We regret to announce that one of the two men who were shot has passed on and the other is in a critical condition at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). The National Chairman, General Secretary and the Regional Executive Committee have visited him at the hospital.”
The party has, therefore, called on the police to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter and bring the perpetrators to book.
Although the motive for the shooting is yet to be established, it would be recalled that Mr. Mahama, who is hoping to lead the NDC for the second time for the 2020 presidential election, held a meeting with all 10 regional chairmen of the NDC at his office last week to discuss how to shore up support for his candidature in order to win the race.
The former president is said to have budgeted an amount of GH?2million for that project.
Each of the 10 regional chairmen was said to have been given an amount of GH?100,000 with GH?30,000 for each of the 275 constituency chairmen to ensure he wins the primary.
However, checks by DGN Online with some constituency executives indicated that even though many of them have heard about the existence of the money, they maintained that the cash is yet to get to them.
They claim the regional executives are refusing to release the money to them.
They said they are not “zombies” to follow anything that the constituency chairmen tell them, and that they are determined to send a strong signal that they are not to be taken for granted.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri