Kofi Agyei alias Jamalo
THE alleged driver of the Suhum Member of Parliament, Oboafo Kwadwo Asante, who was accused of butchering a New Patriotic Party (NPP) communicator at a funeral in Suhum in the Eastern Region over the weekend, has finally been arrested.
The suspect, identified as Kofi Agyei, popularly called Jamalo, yesterday afternoon stormed the Suhum Police to report himself after pressure was mounted on the NPP MP by the party members to produce him for committing the heinous crime.
He was immediately whisked away from the Suhum Police to the Regional Police Headquarters at Koforidua, where he was ordered to write his caution statement and was subsequently kept in custody to assist the police in their investigation.
As at press time yesterday, there was no indication that the suspect had been released from custody.
Earlier yesterday, an aide to the MP was also arrested and granted bail by the police, following the melee which occurred last Saturday at a funeral held at Suhum-Urban Council Park.
The bloody clash led to the slashing of the head of one of the communicators of the party.
The arrested suspect, whom the police have not named, was alleged to be involved in the melee and was reported to have slapped the Suhum NPP Constituency Secretary, Ernest Lartey, who was trying to act as peacemaker during the “free-for-all fight.”
MP Statement
The MP in a statement condemned the incident and debunked claims that his supposed driver had picked the machete from his vehicle.
“I wish to state categorically that, my driver was not involved in the case neither was cutlass nor implement picked from my car as is being alleged in the media,” he said in the release on Tuesday.
Spurious Claims
Opponents of the NPP were all over the place following the incident claiming that the brawl was connected to presidential aspirations of some of the NPP gurus, particularly Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Trade and Industry Minister Alan K. Kyerematen.
However, it turned out that it was rather a tussle for the Suhum seat where Frank Asiedu Bekoe, aka Protozoa, a presidential staffer at the Office of the Chief of Staff is reportedly lacing his boots to face the incumbent MP Oboafo Kwadwo Asante, who also unseated longstanding MP Frederick Opare Ansah last year and went ahead to win the seat for the NPP.
How It Started
Matters came to a head when some NPP communicators who attended the funeral of the father of one of their colleagues in Suhum were engaged in a brutal fight with the MP’s supporters.
When the MP arrived, an NPP communicator called Alexander Odei, aka Big Deal, reportedly approached the legislator and requested to be allowed to announce his arrival but a brother of the MP objected because he perceived Odei to be pro-Protozoa.
Odei then reportedly took the microphone and started announcing that the MP did not want to work with the communicators so they were leaving the funeral grounds, a threat that did not go down well with the MP and his entourage.
Women’s Organiser
The Women’s Organiser of the constituency called Hannah, who was at the scene then snatched the microphone from Odei for making that statement, and in the ensuing melee, Odei was attacked by some supporters from the MP’s camp.
There were also claims that when Hannah approached Odei to snatch the microphone, she was slapped by Odei and that sparked the mass brawl.
The communicators sensing that their colleague (Odei) was being attacked also intervened and it became a free-for-all fight.
Machete Attack
The MP’s driver, who was identified as Jamalo, then brought a machete and slashed Mr. Amoani, from Asamankese, a communicator who was said to have tried to stop the fight but suffered a head injury and bled profusely.
Protozoa Statement
Protozoa, who was accused of being a beneficiary of the melee, issued a statement denying any involvement and said the spurious allegation was designed to tarnish his reputation.
He said “my attention has been drawn to some false social and print media publications where my name has been cited as a beneficiary of the scuffles that ensued between the supporters of Hon Kwadwo Asante and the Eastern Regional Grassroot Communications Team at Suhum over the weekend.
“I wish to state with all certainty and clarity that I am in no way a party to the scuffles at Suhum, hence, the publication by some media outlets must be treated as gross misrepresentation and utmost distortion aimed at casting a slur on my hard won reputation.”
He said that “in fact, I have no capacity and interest to incite party Grassroot Communicators against the party hierarchy in Suhum. Rather, the rift was between supporters of the MP (Hon Oboafo Kwadwo Asante) and members of the Eastern Regional Grassroot Communication Team who had come to sympathise with their colleague communicator, Opare.”
“I, Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa) am in no way associated with any of the parties engulfed in this open tussle. I only attended the said funeral as a true son of Suhum and also based on my love for our dear Communicators within the echelons of the NPP and the need to empathise with my good friend Opare, whose father was deceased,” he said, adding “the publication being circulated is therefore, not only a complete falsehood, but mischievous and orchestrated attempt purposely contrived to cause public ridicule to my personality.”
Protozoa also “condemned this barbaric act by these unscrupulous person in no uncertain terms and also wish the victims of this needless attack a speedy recovery,” and said “as it stands, the matter remains in the custody of the Ghana Police Service at Suhum for the purposes of investigation, hence, I urge the general public to stay calm and allow the law to take its course.”
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Suhum