I never slapped Annoh-Dompreh, I only made some gesticulations towards him — K.T Hammond

The Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa constituency, Hon. K.T. Hammond has responded to a viral video which saw him fend off the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, during a parliamentary proceeding on December 22, 2023.

The video has received mixed reactions from the general public with some accusing Hon. Hammond who is also the Minister of Trade of reacting violently towards his colleague lawmaker.

Reacting to the video in a press conference at his residence in Adansi Asokwa, the MP bemoaned the rate at which his comments are always taken out of context by people, especially the media.

He chided the media for consistently misrepresenting his thoughts and comments without looking out for the substance. This he said has caused public disaffection towards him.

Narrating what transpired on the floor of Parliament, Hon. K. T Hammond said he was called into the chamber by Hon. Annoh-Dompreh to take part in the discussions and subsequent voting on the appointment of judges by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who were being vetted on the day.

He said due to his relationship with one of the Judges, who was his schoolmate at the University of Ghana, he wanted to take part in the discussions on the floor.

He said while making his submissions on the floor, the Majority Chief Whip attempted to draw his attention ostensibly to time constraints. He said he wanted to make his point quickly enough amidst the interjections from the Nsawam-Adoagyir MP.

"I only made some gesticulations towards him to allow me to make my point regardless of the time constraints. Parliament had spent the whole day discussing other issues so why was I distracted from making my point to wind up the business of the day," he stated.

He refuted claims that he is a violent person stressing that he has no history of violence and has not been involved in any violent act.

Hon. K.T Hammond stressed that Annoh-Dompreh is one of his close confidants in politics and Parliament and sees no reason to act violently towards him.

"I never slapped him. Why will I slap a colleague Member of Parliament? Have you seen me fighting anybody in Parliament as the others did during voting for the Speaker of Parliament and other violent scenes in the house?" the Adansi Asokwa Law maker quizzes.

Picking of Nomination forms
Meanwhile, Hon. Kobina Tahir Hammond has picked nomination forms to contest the upcoming Parliamentary primaries in his constituency on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. When successful, the MP who first entered Parliament in 2001 will be serving his 7th term in the house. He is expected to face stiff competition from three other aspirants who already filed their nominations.

Sounding optimistic, the Legislator said he is responding to calls from his constituents to seek another term judging by his good works. He said he was confident of getting the nod from the party delegates.

An anticipated vaccum in Parliament
Some experienced Members of Parliament including Joseph Osei Wusu, MP for Bekwai, Dan Botwe, MP for Okyere, Samuel Atta Akyea, MP for Akyem Abuakwa South and Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu have announced their decisions not to contest the upcoming Parliamentary primaries in January. This according to Hon. K.T Hammond will create a void in Parliament and affect the quality of works in Parliament.

He said the legislators have made invaluable contributions to the house hence losing them will create a vaccum in the house. "Replacing these experienced MPs will be a daunting task for the party," he stressed.

Broken bridge to be fixed
Some aggrieved residents of Nsokote, a farming community in the Adansi Asokwa constituency recently demonstrated against the Member of Parliament over a broken bridge linking the community to other neighboring communities.

According to the residents, the poor nature of the road and the broken bridge had resulted in the avoidable deaths of 20 people. They called on the MP to help fix the bridge.

Reacting to the demonstration, Hon. K.T Hammond said he has had fruitful discussions with the Roads Minister, Hon. Amoako Atta and the contractor of the road project. He added that very soon the contractor will move back to site to complete the road he had already started.

He called for calm among the people stressing that government has shown commitment to fix the deplorable roads in the area.