Chairman Wontumi Arrested

From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Kumasi
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested the Ashanti Regional Chairman of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako, better known as Wontumi, over an assault charge, the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye has announced.

The Chronicle gathered that at 11: 45am yesterday, the Tafo Pankrono Police apprehended the firebrand NPP Chairman.  The NPP regional chair is said to have assaulted the Manhyia North Member of Parliament and his Constituency Secretary.

In what looked like a Hollywood movie scene, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako, last Sunday, reportedly assaulted the Member of Parliament for the Manhyia North Constituency, Collins Owusu Amankwah, in the full glare of the public at a registration center called Fordwuor House at Krofofrom.

Reports had it that the regional chairman, referred to as Wontumi, unleashed a hefty slap to the Manhyia North legislator after accusing the latter of flouting his orders. This was after Chairman Wontumi, accompanied by his private bodyguards, numbering about 15, had pounced on the helpless Constituency Secretary, Felix Ibrahim and beaten him to pulp for assisting the legislator to flout his orders in replacing agents he had assigned to that particular polling station.

Last week, based upon an agreement, the regional executives, led by the party chair had reached with the incumbent MP, some persons were recommended to partner others the MP had also suggested to man the polling stations in the Manhyia North for the limited registration exercise by the Electoral Commission.

But, ironically, the agents the regional chairman selected from the Manhyia-South Constituency to man the polling stations with Amankwah's men were allegedly demanding monies from NDC party executives who used to come around during the exercise.

Finding this occurrence odd for a serious party as the NPP who has its eyes on the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in November, one agent assigned from the MP's camp accosted the regional party assignee and told him that the practice of collecting monies from their opponents camp was bad.

However, the agent, who felt he was disgraced by the MP's man, went to tell a different story that he had been assaulted and his material given him to observe the exercise had been destroyed by some agents of the MP.

Obviously incensed by this half-truth story and without crosschecking, Wontumi decided to storm the registration ground the following day to inquire why that happened and it was during this inquisition that the Chairman is alleged to have violently accosted both the constituency secretary and the MP, despite the presence of the three armed Policemen at the polling station