Juliana K. Wassan
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has summoned Juliana Kinang-Wassan, a defeated National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary aspirant for Ejura Sekyedumase over a suspected instance of corruption against her.
Juliana, who placed fourth in the parliamentary primary after garnering 216 votes, threw money on delegates at the Ahmadiya School Park during the polls as a way of voter inducement.
In a viral video, she was seen throwing currency notes on people in the constituency in what is considered to be a cash bribe to voters, and this caught the attention of the police, and now the OSP.
The OSP stated in a letter that an inquiry into suspected corruption in relation to her actions had begun.
“The OSP considers you as a person necessary for investigation. You are directed to attend the Office of the Special Prosecutor at 6 Haile Selassie Avenue, South Ridge, Accra on Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 10 am for interviewing.
“You may be accompanied by counsel of your choice,” the letter, signed by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, said.
Earlier, the police said in a statement that “a dedicated legal team is currently scrutinising her conduct in the video to establish whether there are elements of election-related crime to warrant Police intervention or otherwise.”
2020 Episode
The MP aspirant, who lost to the incumbent MP Muhammad Bawah Braimah, has since received public opprobrium for her infamous action, which akin to what was done in 2020 by the NDC MP for Agona East in the Central Region, Queenstar Maame Pokuah Sawyerr.
Queenstar sparked a social media debate about cash bribes to voters after displaying wads of cash meant to be shared by her constituents at a party function in her constituency.
In a video gone viral, the MP who was Central Regional Minister under the Mahama NDC administration, was filmed trying to woo her party people and influence the voting choices of her constituents as she counted bundles of Ghana Cedis in public, which people interpreted as “inducements”.
She was seen picking up the money from a box being carried by a man and with a crowd gathered, saying, “This one is 100 million, another 100 million and another 100 million which brings the total to 300 million. This is 50 million, another 50 and the rest is 100 million, and the grand total is 500 million.”
“When they say anything on the contrary, tell them that I came here to show you the money. I want the leaders to do the distribution themselves. We won’t allow one person to keep the money in his or her home. Each of the leadership will receive his share of the money and proceed to decide between Thursday and Sunday when he would like to share it among the people. I thank you all.”
Cash bribes to voters are widely thought to influence the voting choices of the poorest and most vulnerable voters.
Trying to buy votes with cash and other gifts in the run up to elections is becoming rampant in Ghana, and some analysts have attributed the development to the fiercely competitive nature of Ghanaian politics.
The MP was one of the only four NDC candidates to win seats for the party in 2016 after an NPP tsunami swept the incumbent NDC in the Central Region.
Queenstar, as she is popularly called, is contesting with Prof. Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, and pundits have said if the NPP steps up its campaign in Agona East, the seat will be taken from the NDC.
By Ernest Kofi Adu