Rampaging NDC Youth Attack & Loot Properties 

…30 Suspects Arrested, As Party Calls for Calm

Reports are rife of massive acts of vandalism and looting of properties, including fridges, washing machines, motorbikes, across the country by supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the wake of the party’s landslide victory of the December 7, polls.

Relief items of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), kept at warehouses at certain district assembles, were also not spared, with several of them ransacked.

Items such as fertilizer, rice, oil, and agrochemicals, that the government, had dispatched to various northern districts to assist farmers who lost their agricultural lands, were looted.

Viral videos and images, showing the youth, carrying and running away with some of the properties, which emerged on the internet, have been widely condemned.

In the case of Ayawaso North Municipal Assembly incident for instance, there are conflicting accounts of what led to the mass looting of home appliances by the irate NDC youth.

While, commentaries accompanying the videos, say the youth looted the items because of former president John Mahama’s re-election and the party’s parliamentary candidate’s victory, counter report suggests, the owner of the shop, had placed a bet on the just ended election.

The shop owner, it is alleged, had betted that his shop be looted, if Mr Mahama wins the December 7, polls, even though this paper cannot confirm this claim.

One of the videos sighted by The Anchor, had the caption “Shop owner placed a bet on his items that if John Mahama wins, them for come carry them go, na so it happened at Ayawaso”.

In the Northern Region, numerous warehouses owned by district assemblies which contain vital relief supplies for individuals affected by prolonged droughts and flooding, have been locked up by supporters of the NDC in Tamale.

However, these supplies, have been confined to the warehouses, with plans to distribute them only after the elections.

In a related incident, on December 9, NDC supporters in the Chereponi District of the North East Region, also locked several relief warehouses, further delaying the much-needed aid to vulnerable communities.

30 Arrested

Meanwhile, the police, has arrested a total of 30 individuals, including those clad in NDC T-shirts over the alleged looting and vandalisms in parts of the country.

Although, the police did not mention specifically the incident at Ayawaso, its statement on Monday December 9 said, it has arrested 18 more suspects after apprehending 12 others previously.

According to the police, the suspects caused damages to properties and looted in some parts of the country.

“This brings to 30 the total number of suspects arrested so far in connection with the investigations.

One suspect, who was shot by an accomplice during the attack, has been confirmed dead by medical authorities, while an injured Electoral Commission official, is receiving medical treatment.

Intelligence-led operations are still ongoing, to get other perpetrators arrested to face justice”.

National Communication Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, has weighed in on the looting and vandalism being recorded across the country.

The practicing lawyer, said what is going on is criminal and NDC supporters, should desist from such acts.

He asked the elated supporters to jubilate the landslide victory in moderation and also remain calm, so that they will live to see the former president sworn , as the new president and benefit from the implementations of his policies.

“You cannot engage in violence or any acts of vandalism or attack on state properties or looting of state properties it is against the law. Ours is a law-abiding party besides that, we want you to live to see John Dramani Mahama sworn in as president on the 7th of January. We want you to participant in the process of resetting Ghana and to benefit from the new Ghana.

A Ghana that works that His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama will be leading us build, a Ghana we all want. We want you to see that, to participate in the process and the benefit from the fruits thereof. You can cannot do that if you end up injured or dead because of the excesses with the jubilations currently on-going”.

Sammy Gyamfi, also said there are many disgruntled and frustrated New Patriotic Party supporters who looking for such an opportunity to also cause their own chaos so that the NDC supporters will be blamed for it.

“We have won this election clean, we’ve won this election free and fair we did not resort to violence, that has never been our nature and so it is not now that we will result to acts of vandalism don’t give them what they are looking for. Let be peaceful”.

He revealed that, as a result of these excessive jubilations, two more NDC supporters, have been killed in Akomadan in the Ashanti Region.

“Latest by the 7 of January, in the next 28 days he [John Mahama] will be sworn in as president and when he is sworn in, the change you are looking for, the accountability you are looking for, the probity you are looking for, you are going to see it. We want you to live to see it.

Only this afternoon two of our supporters have been murder in cold blood at Akomadan as a result of these excesses associated with the jubilation going on we don’t want to lose any NDC supporter again. We don’t want that, John Mahama doesn’t want that, the leadership of the NDC doesn’t want that. We want you alive to see the new Ghana.”