The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) says it expects the Ghana Police to apply the same measure to National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials who wear military camouflage.
The party further calls on the police to equally crack the whip on NDC members who are found wearing attires that appear to be military camouflage.
This follows an invitation extended by the police to the National Youth Organiser of the NPP, Salam Mustapha for allegedly wearing military camouflage.
The irate youth wing of the party described as unnecessary the invitation of its National Youth Organiser.
Salam Mustapha on Wednesday, April 12, decided to report himself to the police in Accra after he failed to honour the invitation in Wa on April 7 due to what he described as family circumstances.
He was however accompanied by about 100 members of the youth wing including some regional and national executives.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Deputy National Youth Organiser of NPP, Isaac Jay Hyde, said it was not a big deal for his boss to have put on a camouflage calling on the police not to be selective in its invitations when NDC leaders also commit same offence.
Isaac Hyde said the NDC should not attempt to complain of being intimidated if found culpable of flouting the same law.
“We are law-abiding citizens and will not sit back and say that our government is in power and that we should have our way. The police is our friend, we went in there to do what we had to do. We hope that if it happens on the other side where we have evidence of images circulating on social media of the NDC leadership wearing some of this military apparel, nobody will sit back and say that there has been an abuse of the law or somebody is intimidated.
“We wouldn’t want a situation where tomorrow the NDC is called upon to answer questions they will start attacking the relevant authorities,” he asserted.
It wasn’t military uniform
The Deputy National Youth Organiser of NPP also denied that his boss wore military camouflage adding that he got the attire from a store in the UK.
“Investigations are still ongoing. Where we are coming from this is not military apparel, this is an outfit he got from the UK. If you have seen some of the images online, this is a popular brand most people go online to purchase. I must be honest, beyond the whole social media frenzy, the police were more professional, it was an engagement to understand both sides. That’s the most important thing,” Hyde explained.
He asked if every material of military design is regarded as military apparel which citizens are not supposed to wear.
“Beyond the issue of enforcing people not to wear military apparel, I think that we need to go into the market, where a lot of people are seen selling camouflage materials. Does any material which is of a certain military design necessary becomes military apparel?” he questioned.
Meanwhile, six executives of the NDC in the Ashanti Region were on March 29, summoned by the Ashanti Regional Police Command and questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The six people were invited after being seen in viral photos on social media wearing military camouflage during former President Mahama’s recent campaign tour in the Ashanti Region.