An independent parliamentary candidate in the Afram Plains North constituency is accusing the Member of Parliament(MP), Betty Krosbi Mensah of unleashing brutalities on persons who openly campaign for him ahead of December 7 elections.
According to the followers of the candidate Kpeli Worlasi, these unprovoked attacks are occurring with the support of the Police Intelligence Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, which was originally deployed to curb highway robbery in the area.
Addressing the press in Donkorkrom to express their discontent with the actions of MP Sampson Kudzo Ayittey, the spokesperson of the group stated that the constituency has turned into a hotbed of violence.
“Pressmen and women, the Afram Plains North constituency has turned into a hotbed of violence, with mobs and identifiable armed men perceived to be aligned with the incumbent Member of Parliament, Hon. Betty Mensah Crosby.”
“Media men and women, these mobs and armed thugs aligned with MP Betty Mensah have been targeting and ransacking the houses of independent candidate Kpeli Worlasi ESQ and his campaign team members. These bandits have also carefully developed a strategy to disrupt every campaign rally that Mr. Kpeli Worlasi organizes,” he alleged.
He expressed concern about how the MP is abusing her incumbency to the disadvantage of Mr. Kpeli Worlasi, who broke ties with the NDC after he was disqualified from contesting the party’s primary.
“At Havorkofe on Thursday, September 26th, Madam Betty Mensah, who was on her campaign tour in the village, accused the villagers of eroding her popularity in the constituency.”
“In light of this, Mr. Tamatey Robert took to the stage to explain otherwise. Just as Mr. Tamatey began to speak, Madam Betty Mensah instructed her armed policeman to drag the 68-year-old man out of the venue. This led to a fierce confrontation between the police and Mr. Tamatey, with the policeman pulling out his rifle to shoot. By the grace of God, Mr. Tamatey survived to see the next day,” he lamented.
On October 16, at Atakora Sikafoabatem, a village in the area, he said the MP stormed a community campaign organized by Mr. Kpeli, accompanied by thugs wearing branded T-shirts of the MP, firing pepper spray, and threatening to beat up anyone supporting her contender.
“These party militias, criminal gangs, and other armed groups have consistently engaged in violence to suppress opponents and deter rival candidates from organizing peaceful electioneering campaigns. The actions of these thugs have polarized the political environment, causing many voters to refuse to attend campaign meetings for fear of being harmed.”
“In the attached video, these thugs, mostly drawn from the Zongos and led by known bad boys like Latif, Zinyo, Razak, and others, as shown in the video, are the main militias for such operations within the constituency,” he explained.
Mr. Ayittey also alleged that the MP led a group of masked police officers from the Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) to open fire on unarmed civilians after they resisted an order to remove T-shirts and caps bearing Mr. Kpeli’s name.
“The deadliest of all the incidents thus far occurred on Saturday, October 26th. The Surveillance Unit under the Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) of the Ghana Police Service, initially deployed to the constituency to curb the insurgency of highway armed robbery, has now turned into assassins for the Member of Parliament, Betty Mensah Krosby.
These Surveillance policemen, with bearded faces, earrings, and overgrown mustaches, work closely with the MP’s banditry gang known as the ‘Betty Soldiers’ and take instructions from them and the MP.
‘During a funeral ceremony at Bruben, these hired Surveillance policemen accompanying Madam Betty Mensah Krosby unfortunately opened fire on unarmed civilians after the policemen asked supporters of the independent candidate to take off T-shirts and caps they wore to the funeral,’ he disclosed.”
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