I was harsh toward Afenyo-Markin, and I apologize to him – KSM

Alexanda Afenyo-Markin [L] and KSM

Veteran broadcaster Kwaku Sintim-Misa, popularly known as KSM, has unreservedly apologized to the Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, for launching a scathing criticism of him, which, in hindsight, he now describes as harsh.

KSM, during one of the episodes of his show The KSM Show, criticized the New Patriotic Party (NPP), stating that it made a huge mistake by removing Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu—whom he described as a “colossus”—and replacing him with Alexander Afenyo-Markin, whom he described as “boisterous.”

The outspoken media personality further criticized the choice of Afenyo-Markin, describing him as someone lacking “substance” and not being the ideal leader for the NPP in Parliament.

“Among some of the things listed was Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu leaving as Majority Leader to bring in Afenyo-Markin. NPP, what were you thinking? You removed Kyei-Mensah—I call him a colossus of an MP. He understood Parliament. He knew how to communicate, whether you agreed with him or not. His system of communication had a strong measure of intelligence backing it up.

“I may disagree with one or two things, but overall, he was human and might have had his mistakes. But to remove him as leader of the majority? At least replace him with somebody of substance. Who did you choose? Afenyo-Markin. So boisterous—‘I will go to court’—that is what you chose. Was that your best choice?” he questioned.

KSM added, “To fire Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and bring in Afenyo-Markin to lead the majority? Isn’t it interesting where he has led you? He has led a whole contingent of a majority in Parliament to a desperate minority because of his intransigence, because of his approach to things. This boisterous, cantankerous nature is not really in sync with the politics of 2025. We actually have to upgrade everything.”

However, according to KSM, after airing the program, he received a call from Afenyo-Markin, who took his time and explained things to him. He subsequently invited the politician to the show for an interview.

KSM later felt it necessary to apologize to Afenyo-Markin for misjudging him on an issue he lacked understanding of.

“With the benefit of hindsight, I was unfair and harsh towards Afenyo-Markin, and I apologize to him. I really believe, in hindsight, that there were things I didn’t understand, which he made clear to me. Above all, I think it is a mark not only of a true politician but also of a noble human being who can hear criticisms, call you and say, ‘My friend, I understand you are criticizing me, but you don’t understand the issues properly,’ and then take their time to explain.

“So, I am here today to apologize to Afenyo-Markin for misjudging him on the specific things we talked about. And also, to thank him for taking the time to call me, and for being my guest and explaining things. Wherever you are, I say, keep keeping on. You said plainly that you are loyal to your party, and I tell everybody all the time that it is okay to be loyal to your party. But I always say, don’t let that override your decision to build a nation,” KSM stated.

“With the benefit of hindsight, I was unfair and harsh towards Afenyo-Markin and I apologize to him.” – Kwaku Sintim-Misa pic.twitter.com/H8le37SuRu

— Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin (@AfenyoMarkin) March 18, 2025

KA

Meanwhile, catch the first in the series of our special episodes on Forgotten Forts on People and Places on GhanaWeb TV below. This episode focuses on Fort Amsterdam at Abandze: