The untold Biakoye 2004 elections story

THE Chronicle's political desk has stumbled upon credible information from the camp of Volta Regional branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on how the former Regional Minister, who was the party's Parliamentary Candidate for Biakoye, was sabotaged.

Biaokye, a veritable and potential seat for the NPP, has failed to join the Deputy Regional Minister, Mr. Joseph Nayan, in breaking the monopoly of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Region.

This paper has learnt from the Biakoye constituency various accounts that led to the defeat of the party's candidate, then Regional Minister, Mr. Kwasi Owusu Yeboah, in the December 7, 2004 general elections despite the fact that the party was tipped for the seat.

According to some party members who are now openly confessing what they termed their “misdeeds and ill acts”, the defeat of the NPP candidate was a grand design by groups within the party to scupper Mr. Yeboa's parliamentary bid.

One Henry Adjei, leader of a demonstration group who claim to have been tasked to do all that they could to sabotage the chances of the party and for that matter the then Regional Minister, and Baba Kankani Bawa, said they have not been at peace and needed to clear their consciences.

The two, who admitted leading the group to cause uncountable false alarms to the extent that they had spread rumours that the Regional Minister had thumb-printed ballot papers in his house, not to mention other riots that resulted in the death of two citizens in Kwamikrom, have rendered unqualified apologies to the former Minister.

The two NPP members claimed they were misled into believing that Mr. Yeboah was not the President's choice, and accused the Jasikan District Chief Executive, Hon. Solomon Kwame Donkor, Mr. E. C. Boateng, and Dan Korsina, an aspiring constituency chairman for Biakoye, as party members who misled them into doing what they did to the detriment of the party.

An apology letter written by Mr. Henry Adjei, a Zonal NADMO coordinator, to Mr. Yeboah, stated, “I write to apologize to you for allowing myself to be used to sabotage your efforts to win the Biakoye parliamentary seat.

“I was misled by Mr. Solomon Donkor, Mr. E.C. Boateng, Mr. Dan Kosina and others that you were not the choice of the President and that all efforts will be made to recruit and sponsor an independent candidate within the party to destroy the chances of winning the seat on behalf of the NPP.”

He continued, “That was why the late Kofi Appiah was recruited to stand as an independent parliamentary candidate.”

Justifying his actions in the apology letter, he said, “I was invited to instruct demonstrations in the Nkonya Traditional Area under the false pretext that you supported the Alavanyos against the Nkonyas in their land disputes.

“This and many others like the attack in Kwamikrom on your campaign manager's house, which resulted in the death of two people, were all part of the strategy to ensure that you lose the election.”

According Mr. Adjei, who averred that after his confessions he became the victim of the people because he had exposed what went wrong for the party in 2004, the plan worked perfectly but was quick to say that after reflections over the actions, he had come to the realization that something went wrong.

“It is against this background that I am writing to apologize to you as my conscience tells me to do and hope that you will forgive me and together we will move the party forward.”

In a chat with this paper, he confirmed all that he did and explained further ill acts that he and his group had initiated.

In another development, Baba Kankani Bawa, a butcher at Kwamikrom, corroborated the accounts of the former.

According to him, he had been deceived into working for the saboteurs group till date.

He recounted how the group met at a place and strategised means to frustrate Mr. Yeboah to the advantage of the NDC candidate.

Baba Kankani said the party would have won the parliamentary bid if not for how they worked tirelessly against it. He has also gone to the former Minister to render his apologies and asked for forgiveness.

When this paper contacted Mr. Solomon Donkor, he refuted all the allegations and threatened to go to any lengths to redeem his image. He dared the two to tell the whole world where, when and how he consulted with them to scuttle the party's chances.

Uncle Solo, as he is affectionately called, fuming with anger said it was untenable that people would link him to the defeat of the ex-Minister after he had worked tirelessly for the party and printed T-shirts for the candidate.

“I will contest them at any court of law,” he challenged. “I have never done anything like that. I would not allow anybody to take me for a ride. I don't know anything about that. I will make sure that those people are brought to book to tell the whole world the truth.”

According to him, the actions of some people were meant to re-foment tension and unnecessary trouble in the area after the just-ended reconciliation meeting.

Mr. E. C. Boateng could not comment on the matter until he had read the full content of the apology letter, which he was yet to lay hands on.