Kumasi Police Caught In Selective Prosecution

Three persons caught with 128 fake election observer accreditation cards on voting day, have been ordered by a Kumasi Circuit Court to be held in prison custody.

Stephen Shandu, Richard Gyan and Awuah Amoah Gyasi, have been charged with conspiracy, forgery of official document and possession of forged document.

Strangely, however, the same police have spared two ladies, who were arrested on Election Day, engaging in multiple voting through the use of Electoral Commission (EC) jackets.

The two women were at Asafo in Kumasi, and but for timely intervention of an armed police patrol team, would have been lynched.

They are believed to be supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who were perpetuating fraud in the interest of the party, which was declared winners of the 2016 Presidential election.

In the case of the three men, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Asumadu Okyere-Darko, told the court, presided over by Mrs. Mary Nsenkyire, that Shandu, is the Constituency Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the two other accused persons, printers.

They all pleaded not guilty and would make their next appearance on Thursday, December 22. One other accomplice, whose name was only given as Sly, is, however, on the run.

On December 7, at about 1030 hours, when voting was underway across the nation, the police received information that the Electoral Commission (EC) accreditation cards, were being printed by the accused at Adum and moved in to arrest them.

The prosecution said, in all, 128 printed election observation cards were seized from them, which the EC, later confirmed were fake.
Shandu, in his caution statement, claimed that he was instructed to print the cards by his fugitive colleague, Sly. The court refused the plea for
bail by their counsel, George Fuseini.

The two women, one of them was an EC official on Election Day, moved away from her post at the polling station near the Asafo Palace to a drinking spot and handed over her EC jacket to the other woman.

She then used the EC jacket, moved to the polling centre and feigned as though she was an EC official, who could not participate in the Special Voting and that she should be allowed to vote.

According to an eye witness, Akua Benewaa, who was in her room on the first floor of the building, when she saw the two, exchanging the EC reflective jackets embossed with Polling Official at the back.

She said, she immediately descended and confronted the two. The other woman, confessed that she had used the jacket “to vote only twice” at various polling stations and begged for forgiveness.

Not quite after Benewa had questioned them, a crowd was attracted to the scene and when they got to know about the modus operandi of the two, they started insulting and tried to attack them.

Sensing danger, some others called the police, whose timely intervention prevented the crowd, whose numbers were swelling by the minute from physically attacking the two.

The police had to use Taser guns to scare away the crowd, some of whom had picked stones and clubs ready to lynch the lady.

The two ladies are yet to face prosecution.