Pablo, Brogya’s Deadly Thugs Declared Wanted

The police are on the heels of the thugs involved in the violent clash that rocked the opposition National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) national Women and Youth Organizers elections held last Saturday, December 10,at Cape Coast in the Central Region.

The suspects, 16 in all and currently on the run,were alleged to be errand boys of the two contenders,who vied for the Youth Organizer race, namely Ernest Brogya Genfi, a former Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer, and the incumbent, George Opare Addo, popularly called “Pablo,” a onetime Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Akuapim North in the Eastern Region.

Though details of the identity of the suspects are sketchy, insiders told The Anchor that the two contenders hold the key to who the thugs are, where they came from, as well as their whereabouts, and, therefore, they should be invited.

The free-for-all clash by the two rival groups, which resulted in various degrees of injuries sustained by the supporters of the feuding factions, marred what would have been a successful delegates’ congress of the party.

The thugs violently threw stones, blocks, sticks, clubs and chairs, and any other object they could lay hands on as missiles, thereby causing injury to some individuals and destroying property.

But the police, who were present whenthe incident broke out, have placed a GH₵10,000 reward to anyone who can provide credible information about the whereabouts of the 16 individuals.

A statement from the police said, “After an initial review of Police-specific video footages of the event, 16 suspects have so far been identified as some of the people involved in the violence and have been declared wanted.”

It further said that aGH₵10,000.00 reward has been set aside for any member of the public who can provide credible information to the police that can lead to the arrest of any of the suspects.

The thugs-turned-suspects were captured in videos engaging in the brutal fights at the environs of the Conference Hall at the University of Cape Coast (UCC). The video has since gone viral, with many condemning the act.

At least, four persons were said to have sustained various degrees of injuries and were taken to a hospital for medical care. They have subsequently been discharged.

The Anchor gathered that the confusion erupted after a hatched attempt to include a fake list of delegates from the students’ wing of the party, popularly known as Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN), for the Youth Organizer election.

The said list, according to reports, was brought in by Brogya Genfi’s camp, but it was fiercely rejected by the Pablo team, following which the violence broke out.

After counting, Pablo prevailed for the second time beating his sole contender with 533 votes. BrogyaGenfi, alias Armani, on the other hand, polled 508. It was the second time the two met for the same position.

The two competed four years ago in the same election, which Pablo won, in his first attempt.

Meanwhile, a member of the party’s legal team who is unhappy about the turn of events has urged the Ghana Police Service to act immediately in accordance with the law and bring persons responsible for the violence to book.
According to Mr. Baba Jamal, the party is not responsible for the violence and therefore the police should step in and make sure that those responsible are held accountable.

Speaking on Accra-based Okay FM on Monday, December 12, the former NDC Member of Parliament for Akwatia, stated that the police are the ones who implement the law and, for that matter, the violence shouldnot be handled according to political affiliations but rather in accordance with the law.

“So, we give… the police the chance, they should go into it fully because crime is a crime, we won’t sit there and entertain crime, anybody who brought the violence… we have given the police the nod to do their work.
… the police are entirely responsible for handling that situation, without any reservations at all. It is not now that we will say this is a party member or not. Because the fight is not a party fight.

“So, whoever created that problem, the law must deal with the person. It is not now that we should direct the police to take this or that action, rather, what happened there is a crime, and if there is a crime, the police must deal with it. That is our position,” he said.

On his part, a deputy chairman of the Election Planning Committee of the party hasabsolved the party of any blame with regard to the violence.

Mr. Alex Segbefia told TV3 yesterday that, the violence erupted despite precautions taken by the party, adding, “I don’t think the political party has done anything wrong.”

He explained that an emergency meeting was then held and a resolution was agreed to have all inside the New Emancipation Center (NEC) auditorium driven out.

Mr. Segbefia, a former Minister of Health, said the move to empty the auditorium before voting was made due to intelligence gathered that some persons were with “mysterious intentions.”

He explained that it was after all inside the auditorium were driven out that the violence erupted outside.

Mr. Segbefia says the party’s committee in charge of security is liaising with the police to get the perpetrators arrested.

The NDC will be holding a bigger conference this weekend to elect the remaining national executives for the next four years.

Positions such as national chairman, national communications officer, national organizer and general secretary and deputies are all up for grabs.

It is feared that, following the violent clash at Cape Coast, an even bigger scale may erupt in Accra where the conference will be held from Saturday to Sunday.

The national chairman position, which is being contested by four others, including the incumbent, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, and General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, promises to be the toughest.

The two elders of the party have been washing their dirty linens in public, with their supporters slugging it out on both traditional and social media.

Some three members of the party are also vying to step in the shoes of the outgoing General Secretary, popularly known as General Mosquito.

The three are the current deputy General Secretary, Dr. Peter Boamah Otukonor, Director of Election and former Deputy General Secretary, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, and also a former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ketu South constituency, Fifi Kwetey.

Source: Anchorghana