Blows at NDC meeting

All hell broke loose at a National Democratic Congress (NDC) meeting at Kwadaso in Kumasi on Thursday evening when the party’s parliamentary candidate for the area, Justice Alpha, allegedly assaulted an executive member of the party, Eric Eduamah Addo, following a slight misunderstanding.

Plastic chairs were flying all over the meeting ground, compelling some party members to run for cover.

Mr. Alpha, who is stoutly-built, reportedly hit the head of Mr. Addo, popularly called ‘Atta French Line’, with a plastic chair, sending him sprawling on the floor. He later lay motionless in a dazed position.

The NDC parliamentary candidate, who stormed the meeting venue at Ohwimase with some well-built men, popularly called machomen, reportedly ordered the merciless-looking hoodlums, who were six in number, to beat Atta French Line, a serial caller, with all manner of weapons including clubs.

The other NDC members present at the meeting became frightened so they left the meeting venue at top speed to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Alpha later forced Atta French Line, who was once his closest friend, into his Mahindra car and sped off together with the machomen to Santase where Alpha was reported to have again assaulted Alhaji Fatawu, an NDC executive at Kwadaso.

Atta French Line was later sent to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi by other party members for treatment after Alpha’s request at the Sofoline Police Station to have the man imprisoned was flatly turned down by policemen on duty.

The victim of the brutal attack, who suffered severe bruises all over his body, with a swollen mouth, is still on admission at the Accident and Emergency Unit of KATH as at press time yesterday.

Narrating his ordeal to DAILY GUIDE on his hospital bed on Friday afternoon, Atta French Line, who could hardly talk, confirmed that Alpha was once his friend and that he helped him to be elected the NDC candidate for Kwadaso, but they had since fallen out due to the harsh treatment meted out to him by Alpha.

Prior to the Kwadaso NDC primary, he recalled, Alpha, who was hard pressed for money, approached him for a loan of GH¢1000 to enable him to campaign properly, promising to help Addo secure an auction car later if he won the NDC parliamentary polls.

Addo said after winning the primary, Alpha failed to keep his promise of helping him to secure the auction car, and this compelled the NDC executive to approach the candidate for his money.

The NDC serial caller said Alpha paid the GH¢1000 in bits and pieces, which prevented him from using the money for any meaningful project, adding that there had been bad blood between them since then.

Atta French Line said on that fateful day, he had accompanied Alhaji Fatawu to pick a motorcycle given by the party for campaign activities, after which he went to the party meeting at Ohwimase.

According to him, during the meeting, he received a text message on his mobile phone which alerted him that Alpha had ordered some machomen to beat him at the meeting place so he should leave the place immediately.

Minutes after reading the text message, Addo saw a known hoodlum in Kumasi standing a few meters away from the place which frightened him, so he informed the NDC chairman of the constituency about the intentions of Alpha.

The NDC chairman then proceeded from the meeting venue to confront the hoodlum about his mission at the place and at that juncture, Alpha who was present at the meeting, vehemently insisted there was no iota of truth in the allegations being made by Addo so the chairman should ignore him.

This suddenly degenerated into a heated argument between Addo and Alpha and in the course of the exchanges, the NDC candidate, who is muscular, in an angry-manner, picked a plastic chair which he used to hit the head of Addo, knocking him down.

Atta French Line said Alpha then ordered some machomen whom he had transported to the meeting venue in his Mahindra car to beat the serial caller mercilessly, bringing to an abrupt end the meeting, which was geared towards planning for the impending polls.

He said Alpha then hauled him into his car to Alhaji Fatawu’s place where the NDC candidate and his machomen continued beating him and Alhaji Fatawu, till they were forced to produce the motorbike which they had taken earlier in the day for party work.

The paper learnt that Alpha was still walking about freely in Kumasi as at press time on Friday. He was even reported to have stated on radio that he saw the machomen beating Addo but he denied ordering them to assault him.