What was meant to be a day of unity and solemn reflection nearly became a national spectacle of political discord.
The Wenchi Durbar Grounds were thick with grief and respect as mourners from all walks of life gathered to pay their final respects to the late former Akwatia MP, Ernest Kumi. The air, heavy with loss, was suddenly split by a new tension with the arrival of Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
His presence acted as a spark in a tinderbox. Almost immediately, a group of agitated women and supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) surged forward, their grief momentarily eclipsed by anger. They confronted Mr. Nketia and his security detail, their voices rising in a heated chorus of discontent. The solemn funeral rites were forgotten as the scene escalated, with attempts to physically challenge the NDC chairman threatening to plunge the event into chaos.
For a terrifying moment, the standoff teetered on the edge of violence. Mr. Nketia’s security team, reinforced by loyal party members, formed a human shield, holding back the incensed crowd. Just as it seemed the situation would spiral out of control, a wave of blue uniforms arrived, and officers of the Ghana Police Service moved swiftly to intervene, their calm authority a buffer against the rising tempers.
The path to de-escalation was paved not just by police, but by voices of reason from within the NPP itself. New Juaben South MP Michael Kofi Okyere Baafi, NPP National Organiser Henry Nana Boakye, and former Eastern Regional NPP Chairman Kingston Akomeng Kissi stepped into the fray, appealing for calm and reminding the crowd of the day’s true purpose. Through their persistent efforts, the pathway was finally cleared.
The resolution was as symbolic as the conflict. The cleared path allowed Mr. Asiedu Nketia and his delegation to proceed not to a further confrontation, but to the section where former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia were seated—a moment of forced proximity under the watchful eyes of a divided nation.
In the aftermath, the incident left a stain on the day of mourning. NDC Deputy General Secretary Mustapha Gbande called the episode “unfortunate and worrying,” hinting at a deeper consequence. “We have taken a cue from it,” he told the media, signalling that the event would “redefine how we relate with the NPP going into the elections.”
Despite the turbulence, a fragile peace was restored. And in the end, amidst the lingering tension, the NDC Chairman was able to stand before the final resting place of Ernest Kumi, joining other dignitaries to honour a departed colleague—a moment of quiet respect in a day otherwise marred by the very divisions the late MP’s funeral had hoped to transcend.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
