Sarkodie
The Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has been receiving a lot of criticisms for using George Floyd’s death in the United States of America (USA) as a tool to politicize the voter registration exercise in Ghana.
In a tweet, Sammy shared a cartoon depicting Ghana’s Electoral Commissioner, Jean Mensah, and President Akufo-Addo choking the Ghanaian voter with a new voters’ register.
The illustration represented exactly how Floyd was murdered by the Minneapolis Police when he pleaded for his life saying, “I can’t breathe.”
The last words of Floyd were also captured in the illustration. Many Ghanaians found the illustration offensive because Floyd’s death is a very sensitive issue.
But Sammy went on to justify his tweet saying, “This cartoon doesn’t mock the painful xenophobic murder of George Floyd or seek to exploit same for political capital in any way. Floyd was choked to death while screaming for breathe.”
He added, “In GH today, the Jean Mensah-led EC is seeking to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters through a xenophobic voter register. The potential victims of this grave injustice are screaming for breathe. They are screaming for their inalienable right to vote. Nothing wrong with sharing a cartoon which draws a parallel between the painful xenophobic murder of George Floyd and the evil attempt by the GH EC to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters through a xenophobic voter register.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. This is a serious matter, not a joke.”
Despite his explanation, Sarkodie and Joey B insisted that it was wrong to politicize Floyd’s death.
“Naa my brother we all go wrong sometimes… I will believe your intention wasn’t to joke with these serious n very sensitive issues, but you still wrong just do what’s right… retract n take it down,” Sarkodie said.
Joey B also added his voice saying, “Big man, it’s OK. Just delete it.”
By Francis Addo