General News of Monday, 17 September 2012

Source: Paa Kwasi

I recruited thugs in 2008 elections- Ken Agyapong caught on a leaked tape

New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has been caught on a leaked tape recording making damning confessions about how he allegedly implored the services of over 1,000 hoodlums during the 2008 general elections.

On the said tape recording received by an Accra based radio station, Hon. Agyapong expressed anger over some attacks on him in spite of the sacrifices he has made to the party.

It comes at the time of mounting public pressure on the Ghana Police Service to arrest the NDC National Organizer, Yaw Boateng-Gyan, for allegedly organizing some thugs to cause mayhem in the impending 2012 elections.

The vociferous legislature, according to the tape said: “it got to a time when the security in the country was breaking down and so in the second round of the election, I was taken to the Ashanti Region and I met with the Regional Police Commander and when we got back, the Minister of Defense, Kan Dapaah told me we shouldn’t have even gone to them because the security has broken down and we don’t even need to trust them. I was really sad for a whole Minister of Defense telling me this.”

The law maker went on “so I asked, what we were going to do and he told me to hire some macho men to protect our ballot boxes and so I had to get about 1,000 macho men for Ashanti Region to protect our ballot boxes. I can assure you I will not be very, very active because there are a whole lot of insults everywhere and so I won’t be very active like that again. I spent my money left and right only for people to insult me.”

Kennedy Agyapong described the host of Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Adakabre Frimpong Manso as “a very bad guy. He is a very good friend of mine and all the things he said about me, it will be hard to forget. I haven’t finished taking care of my family for me to take care of the NPP.”

The MP for Assin North also alleged that the NPP party is “just for some people and they have made it clear to us that the party belongs to them so they should bring money for us to do the campaign for this year. I am only going to restrict myself to my constituency. What I have to do is bring my constituency on board.”

Hon Agyapong, who is currently standing trial for inciting tribal violence around the country, also claimed the so called party unity agenda embarked upon by Nana Akufo-Addo has woefully failed.

“I am telling you that the unity talk is fake it is just there and I don’t need anybody in my life to unite the NPP but I won’t say anything. But I know this unity talks won’t work.”

According to him, he is embittered by the treatment meted out to him by some persons in the party saying, “the kind of insults they rained on me, the amount of money I have spent on the party; nothing will change the feelings i have for these people. As for me, it is Nana who wants to win and is doing his campaign and so I don’t have anything to do with it. As for me, I am doing my campaign and they are also doing theirs.”