Protesters Lock Out Ada West DCE

About 50 people believed to be sympathisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), last Wednesday, caused commotion at the offices of the Ada West District Assembly at Sege in protest against the alleged interference of the District Chief Executive (DCE) in the process towards the election of NDC constituency executives. The DCE, Mr Anthony Yao Klokpa, was in Accra at the time of the incident, and the demonstrators did not destroy anything, but after a 30-minute action between 12:30p.m. and 1p.m., they left behind clear signals of danger to the lives of the DCE and his staff. When the Daily Graphic visited the offices of the assembly last Thursday, a red band that was nailed to the door leading to Mr Klokpa�s office by the demonstrators was still there, as the DCE went about his duties. Some of the workers, including the DCE�s secretary, who had to abandon their post under the circumstances, did not report to work last Thursday because of the fear created by the demonstrators who had promised to return that day. A Senior Executive Officer of the assembly, Mr Godwin Dzivor, said when he attempted to intervene in the matter, some of the demonstrators threatened to deal with him. Police report Mr Dzivor said he later reported the incident to the police, an assertion the Ada District Police Commander, Chief Supt. Dodzi Hlordzi, confirmed. The police commander added that the police were investigating the matter, but no arrest had yet been made. Chief Supt Hlordzi also stated that the police had been informed about the incident but when they got to the scene, the demonstrators had left. He said the police were pursuing the ringleaders of the demonstration, pointing out that they had not given prior notice of their demonstration to the police. At the time the Daily Graphic visited, there was police presence on the premises, ostensibly to maintain law and order. Denial and reason An assembly member, Mr Emmanuel Tornye Bessey, who was mentioned as one of the ringleaders, denied that charge. According to him, his presence at the scene of the demonstration was to calm the situation and plead with the demonstrators to stop their action. Explaining the reason for the demonstration, he said it was based on the belief that the DCE was allegedly undermining the interest of some people in the contest for positions in the constituency executive of the NDC. Mr Bessey alleged that the DCE, in some meetings with him (Bessey) and another NDC activist, had asked them to persuade some people who were interested in contesting for the constituency elections to back down. Mr Bessey claimed that the people the DCE opposed were not approved at their vetting in Accra, and upon returning home, they decided to storm the offices of the assembly to deliver a clear message to the DCE: �Let the people in the constituency, not the DCE, speak.� DCE�s response When the Daily Graphic contacted Mr Klokpa in his office, he said: �I have no problem with any of them�. He said he was not contesting for any executive position in the constituency so he did not have any interest in the election. �I have no interest; my interest is to maintain peace,� he added.