13 NPP members who unlawfully locked up party’s office granted bail

Some 13 members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Subin constituency who locked up the party office two weeks ago have been granted bail.

They were granted bail in the sum of GHC15,000 each, with two sureties, by the Asokwa District Court on Tuesday, March 22.

One member did not appear in court because he was not served with the summons.

The members who were present were charged with conspiracy and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace contrary to Section 207 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

Ashanti Region’s Head of Legal and Prosecution, Chief Superintendent Kofi Bladgozi, expressed concern about how some party members take the law into their hands without following laid down procedures to address their concerns.

“There are well-laid down structures where grievances are addressed so you can’t take the law into your own hands and cause mayhem.

“So this is what we want to prevent in the Ashanti Region because we can’t allow that. The party is a well-organised so if you are not happy, use the appropriate structures,” he said.

Meanwhile, counsel for some of the suspects, Annis Moghtar Mohayideen, urged the police to treat his clients with civility.

The case has been adjourned to 11 April 2022.

Background

On March 8, the accused persons allegedly besieged the Subin party office of the NPP in protest against what they deemed unfair disqualification in the election of polling station executives.

The supporters accused the Subin MP, Eugene Boakye Antwi, of circumventing electoral rules to favour himself and his supporters.

A situation the aggrieved members vowed to resist.

Clad in red bands, the disgruntled members marched to the party office and locked it up as they chanted war songs.

One of the members said: “Two years ago, we took our MP to court on a similar issue when he fraudulently suspended us from the party, which we won. This same MP wants to take revenge on us this time. A chunk of us have been disqualified, and we see this as an attempt to frustrate the electoral process.

“This is unacceptable. The MP, Eugene Boakye Antwi, is running the party like the era of Nebuchadnezzar and today’s Putin. I am a card-bearing member of this party, and I was told I don’t qualify.

“In some instances, the vetting committee used E-levy to disqualify us, and this tells us the MP is using the divide and rule approach to make his way, and we will resist it,” another said.

But the police say it was unlawful for the aspiring polling station delegates to close down the party’s constituency office on their own accord.