Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of targeting members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a way of diverting public attention from what he describes as the government’s poor performance.
Speaking on Atinka TV’s Ghana Nie morning show, Afenyo-Markin said the arrests and prosecution of NPP members were being used as a political strategy whenever the government faced mounting pressure.
“It is a strategy, so the moment they see they are under pressure, they go and catch an NPP member, and bring up bail terms and court issues,” he said.
He cited the imprisonment of former Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman Bernard Antwi Bosiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, as an example of what he described as a deliberate distraction.
Afenyo-Markin said he had read Wontumi’s judgment three times and questioned the basis for claims that the former NPP chairman had been directly involved in illegal mining.
“Do you know that the charge sheet and judgment itself doesn’t say Wontumi has been involved in galamsey?” he asked.
He also challenged comments by NDC National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who accused the NPP of supporting Bosiako despite his imprisonment over illegal mining.
Afenyo-Markin described that assertion as propaganda.
“That was his propaganda,” he said.
The Minority Leader further questioned why the two individuals who allegedly carried out the illegal mining on Bosiako’s concession had not faced the same consequences.
He wondered whether the former NPP chairman was being targeted as part of an effort to settle political scores with a powerful individual.
“If that’s the case, then use the power you have to do it. That way, people will recognise maybe he misspoke during the campaign season. But to jail him for 20 years is unpalatable,” he said.
Afenyo-Markin, however, declined to clarify whether his comments were linked to Bosiako’s recent apology to President John Mahama over remarks he made during the 2024 campaign.
His comments come amid continued political disagreement over the arrests, prosecutions and convictions of former and current political figures, with the opposition maintaining that some cases are being pursued for political reasons.
