COP (rtd) Nathan Kofi Boakye
Political analyst Justice Siaw Mandela has described the allegations levelled against COP (rtd) Nathan Kofi Boakye by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as serious and should not be taken for granted.
He asserted that the decision by Henry Nana Boakye, the National Organiser of the NPP, to hold a press conference and level these allegations against the respected retired police officer is unfortunate.
He, therefore, wants the security authorities to immediately investigate the matter and deal with the retired officer if it is true.
At a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, NPP National Organiser Henry Nana Boakye warned that any attempts to disrupt peace in the party’s strongholds would be met with firm resistance.
He said the NDC was training these thugs so they would cause chaos on election day, but they would resist it.
“Information available to the NPP reveals that several months ago, the NDC has been training thugs in pockets of communities, including Obuasi East Constituency, under the guise of private security training. These individuals are being prepared to disrupt the electoral process, particularly in the Ashanti Region, which is the NPP stronghold.
“We are aware that recently, on November 11, 2024, the NDC committee on mining led by one Toney Aubynn, the former Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, held a secret meeting with some NDC small-scale miners at the Conference Hall of Mawuli Hotel in the Obuasi West Municipality.
“One of the aims of the meeting was to recruit some members of the pro-NDC small-scale miners to form part of the NDC’s Eagle Force Vigilante Group, which will be deployed to some NPP polling stations to cause mayhem on election day,” he said.
Mr. Siaw Mandela, in his remark, indicated that “these are serious allegations and must not be taken lightly. I am, however, disappointed that the NPP is making these allegations in public. This is not how it should have been handled.
“There should have been a better approach in handling this matter. For the governing party to be complaining that the opposition party is training thugs to disrupt the elections is not healthy for our security.
“This should have been an intelligence they should have handed over to the security agencies. If it is true, then those involved may change their style and adopt plan B because, in every security arrangement, there is always more than one plan. So if the allegations made by Nana B were not meant to deceive people, then they have got it wrong on the forum he used”.
He said, “Bringing in an important personality like Kofi Boakye is serious, and I would love for it to be investigated. I don’t know Kofi Boakye to be an indisciplined police officer. But he is equally a colossus security man, and if he intends to engage in any form of lawlessness, he can easily do so. He is not someone known for these kinds of lawless activities he has been accused of. And if it turns out that Nana lied against him, the police must deal with him.”
He admonished the two major parties, the NDC and NPP, to stop inciting the public because Ghanaians want peace before, during, and after the December 7 general elections.
“Nana B is a serious person of a leading political party, and so they should take whatever he has said seriously and investigate. The people he is accusing of are capable of breaking the peace in this country. Kofi Boakye has a lot under his sleeve as a security personality.
“If he wants to use it for the wrong reasons, he can cause a lot of mayhem for us. We should investigate. If Nana Boakye is lying, he has disgraced the gentleman and has caused unnecessary tension in the country and must be dealt with.”