GHANA- Honourable Hawa Koomson, Minister for Special Development Initiatives and Member of Parliament has admitted to firing gun shots at a voter’s registration centre in her Constituency.According to the Minister, she took the firearm – which she has refused to identify, to the registration centre to protect herself.
‘None of my men had guns on them when we got to the centre. I fired the shots myself,’ she told Adom News.
Officials of the Electoral Commission closed down the Step to Christ registration centre, on Monday, July 20, 2020, in the Awutu Senya East constituency after some 15 gun-wielding men stormed the premises around 8am to sack some prospective voters.
Her opponent, Naa Koryoo Okunot has accused the incumbent MP for perpetuating the act. Miss Koomson on the other hand has admitted to the allegations but clarified that the men she who were with her at the centre were unarmed.
‘I’m a Member of Parliament, I need to protect myself. It was at dawn, my police escort had not started work yet. So that is a mechanism I have adopted in his absence,’ she explained.
She further explained that she was at the registration centrebecause she heard her opponent had bused people from other places to the registration centre. The Police however, has arrested four persons in connection with the incident.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission has condemned the disturbances at the said registration centre.
In a statement issued based on the incident, the Commission saidsome of its officials were attacked by men who disrupted the registration process by firing shots. It therefore, urged the police to ensure justice prevails.
“The Commission condemns such acts during a civil exercise like the Registration of Voters and calls on security agencies to investigate the issue as a matter of urgency to bring the perpetrators to book.”
“These acts constitute a breach of the Vigilante and Related Offenses Act, 2019 Act 999. The Act seeks to disband violent activities of Political Parties and makes political vigilantism an offence punishable by a prison term.” the statement read.
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I’m Deborah Aba Narkoah. I’m an avid reader, writer and public speaker.
