Catholic Bishops Blast Nii Lantey, Kennedy

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference has condemned the posture and utterances of Nii Lante Vanderpuye, Presidential Aide and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) aspiring candidate for the Ododiodioo constituency, whose actions, they noted, have contributed to the troubles in that constituency. In a statement issued and signed by the President of the Conference, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, the church also took exception to Kennedy Ohene Agyapong’s utterances. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Assin North constituency was released on bail following his arrest for utterances he made recently. The Catholic Church’s reaction comes on the heels of the arrest and release on bail of the Assin North MP, alongside the troubles over the biometric registration exercise. They noted that “the ongoing biometric registration exercise has brought to the fore the ugly side of the politics of our nation”, adding, “what is meant to be a simple exercise of people registering to enable them to vote in this year’s elections and the subsequent ones has turned out to be a nightmare in some parts of the our nation.” “It is worrying to us that unimaginable acts of violence have been unleashed on innocent people, simply carrying out their democratic duty. The present trend of events needs to be checked and halted so that Ghana can continue to enjoy her peace,” the Bishops said. President Mills, they said, should show commitment as a matter of urgency “as father of the nation, to ensure peace and rule of law for all in the face of these acts of violence being carried out in the country by members of the various political parties.” They called on the leadership of the NDC and NPP to show similar commitment to peace and the rule of law by denouncing acts of violence being committed by the members of their parties, and bring such members to order. The clergymen tasked the leadership of the parties to sanction their parliamentary candidates and members whose actions created troubles across the country. Frowning upon the actions of macho men, who they noted had been terrorizing people, they asked rhetorically, “what kind of legacy are we leaving for our children when strong, muscular well built men beat up defenceless and innocent men and women trying to register or assist people to do same at various polling stations?” The situation was even worsened, they went on, when some people tried to justify why some Ghanaians had to undergo the ordeal they suffered, adding, “we wish to urge all Ghanaians to ignore the unfortunate statements made by some of our political leaders and work for and live by what brings peace and unity to our country.” Turning their attention to the security agencies, especially the police, they demanded that they perform their duties professionally, remain absolutely neutral and take swift action against all trouble makers, especially taking no note of their political affiliation, origin or status. To the judiciary they said “give alleged culprits a fair hearing.”

Source: A.R. Gomda/Daily Guide