TWO CARS BURNT AT AKWATIA (1B)

Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman

THE political climate in Akwatia turned sour last Friday, when two private vehicles belonging to the Constituency Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Ernest Kwame Ankrah, and the chief of Akyem Abenaso were burnt down by unknown assailants.
Mr Ankrah’s Mazda 626 saloon car and the Ford saloon vehicle of Nana Owusu Boateng, Chief of Akyem Abenase, who is believed to be a sympathiser of the NPP, were reportedly set on fire around 3.15 a.m by two young men whose identities are yet to be established.
The assailants were said to have gone to the houses of Mr Ankrah and Nana Owusu at Akyem Boadua, near Akwatia, in a white Tata pickup, in which they fled after committing the criminal act.
The Akwatia Constituency Secretary of the NDC, Mr Kwesi Ofori Abroakwah, who briefed the Daily Graphic on the incident in a telephone interview, said Nana Osei reported that around 3.15 a.m. on Friday, he was woken by an unusual noise near the house.
He said when the chief peeped through his window, he saw two young men igniting the two vehicles, but the young men immediately jumped into the waiting pickup when the chief emerged from his room.
Mr Abroakwah, however, stopped short of linking the act to the heightening political tension in Akwatia.
“Since we could not find out who the culprits were or determine the registration number of the Tata pickup, we will not want to suspect anybody until the outcome of the police investigations,” he stated.
“It is the outcome of police investigations that will determine or prove the background of the culprits. Until then, we can not accuse anybody,” he explained.
When contacted, the Eastern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Stephen Andoh-Kwofie, confirmed the incident, but indicated that the police had commenced investigations to find out who the culprits were.
According to him, to forestall any further tension in the town, the police had deployed a number of men who were patrolling the town to ensure the security of the people.
“We will maintain our physical presence prior to and after the August 18 rerun elections,” DCOP Andoh-Kwofie assured.
The Akwatia Constituency is set to go for a rerun of the December, 2008 parliamentary election in six polling stations.
The polling stations are Yuroba Mosque ‘A’, Yuroba Mosque ‘B’, Lorry Station ‘A’, Lorry Station ‘B’, Presby JSS and AME Zion Church.
The total registered voters for each of the six polling stations at Akwatia are Presby JSS, 1,183; Yuroba Mosque ‘A’, 920; Yuroba Mosque ‘B’, 838; Lorry Station ‘A’, 610; Lorry Station ‘B’, 626 and AME Zion Church, 404.
The constituency has 89 polling stations and when 83 polling stations were declared at the close of the poll in December, the NPP candidate, Dr Kofi Asare obtained 16,889 votes as against 13,810 by his NDC counterpart, Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed. Mr Basil Ahiable, independent candidate polled 1835 votes while Mr Samuel Adjei of the Convention Peoples Party had 109 votes with Mr Samuel Abrokwah, another independent candidate polling 64 votes.