The Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, has shifted from his initial stance of having recalcitrant traders flogged.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) came under heavy criticism after stating at a press conference on Monday, April 14, 2025, that he would unleash his team on vendors operating on sidewalks in the city’s central commercial area.

He outlined a new approach, which he described as a blend of democratic ideals and military-style enforcement to deter street vending.

“I have my own military-democratic style which I will be implementing. When we say leave the space and you don’t leave, and I get there and you’re still there with my boys — right there and then, we will beat you.

In the middle of Adum, if I’m alone, you’ll be lucky. But if I’m with my ten boys, in their pick-up with their whips — trust me, we will beat you. If you don’t want to experience that, do what is right and lawful.

This is Otumfuo’s city, the Garden City of West Africa, and we have to preserve it. If you want to make my job difficult, I will make your body feel the difficulty you’re causing me,” he warned.

He subsequently defended his controversial comments in an interview on Citi FM on April 15, 2025, insisting that his threat to flog non-compliant traders was a drastic but necessary measure to enforce discipline and restore order in the city.

“I don’t believe in using the police for decongestion because I will spend so much on them, and after that, we’ll return to the status quo.”

However, after public backlash, the Mayor rescinded his threat of corporal punishment in an interview with TV3.

He vowed instead to ensure that non-compliant traders spend time in prison.

"...Other people have suggested jail terms instead of corporal punishment. So, I want to adopt that approach and see how it works. If they want to be in prison or on remand for a month or two, we will do that instead of meting out instant punishment. We will take them to court, but I will make sure they spend time in prison," Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi stated.

Kumasi Mayor backtracks on flogging remark, opts for legal action against road offenders.#TV3GH pic.twitter.com/tf4NhlSSCO

— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) April 16, 2025