Welcome to Chachachakumasi : 2016-02-14

Lawyers: EC steering c’mttee has no legal basis

Henry Kwasi Prempeh

The controversial Steering Committee set up by the Electoral Commission (EC) to assist it to organise this year's general election continues to receive public backlash. The EC without proper consultation set up the committee, and its membership was later found to be mainly card-bearing members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC); and that has once again raised questions about the EC's neutrality ahead of the crucial elections in November.

The Ashanti traditional council has threatened to act if justice does not prevail in the clashes that ensued between some Muslim youth and traditional authorities in Tafo, a suburb of Kumasi. A cemetery-land dispute between the two factions resulted in the death of one and the destruction of several properties in the cosmopolitan vicinity.

Mrs Charlotte Osei, the Chairperson of Ghana's Electoral Commission, has proven she’s the “sweetheart” of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), thus, doing all she can to please her “paymasters”, pressure group Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has said.

The couple

It was a sad day on Valentine’s Day for a thika sugarcane vendor who shocked the country by cutting his wife’s breasts before slashing off his 24 year old genitals and throwing them out of the house. He now wishes his manhood could be stitched back. Duncan Moseti says he regrets his actions, claiming he turned the knife on his wife of two years after she denied him sex. He claims he was not in control of his senses in the heat of the moment.

Ours has long become a country where anything that comes in God’s name is never subjected to scrutiny. And whenever questions and concerns get raised relating to religious issues, men and women of the cloth easily take umbrage. The recent religious delegation to State House to lobby President Uhuru Kenyatta to shelve proposed regulation of religious activities is certainly part of that reaction.

Four persons suspected to have broken into some financial institutions and mobile telephone retail shops in Accra and made away with cash and various items running into thousands of Ghana cedis, have been busted by the police. They are 47-year-old self-styled businessman, Kwaku Boateng aka chairman; Bright Owusu, 27; Michael Ofori, 28, a mechanic and Latif Musah, 25, a footballer.

Nana Akufo-Addo

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commiserated with families who have lost loved ones in the Kintampo-Tamale accident which occurred on Wednesday evening. He has prayed for the speedy recovery of the miraculous survivors. Over 60 persons were feared dead while scores were injured in the crash involving a Metro Mass Transit bus and a cargo truck carrying tomatoes.

The NPP’s flagbearer on social media expressed his deepest condolence to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident. “My condolences to the families who lost loved ones in yesterday’s gruesome accident on the Kintampo-Tamale highway.” “I pray for a speedy recovery for the injured,” he added. Reports say the Kumasi bound Metro Mass Transit (MMT) bus collided head on with the truck believed to be traveling from Burkina Faso.

Uganda: I Won't Accept Results of Rigged Election – Mbabazi

Kampala — If he loses today’s vote, Go Forward presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi will “stay in Kanungu crying” with his people, then return to Kampala a day after to commiserate with friends and then express gratitude to the people of Uganda for having put trust in him to the extent they did. But that, he says, will be if the outcome is a true expression of the people’s wishes.

Social media has been blocked in Uganda on the day of presidential elections to stop people “telling lies”, President Yoweri Museveni has said. Mr Museveni, 71, is seeking to extend his 30-year rule, in a race widely seen as the tightest in the East African state’s history. Voting has been cancelled at one polling station in the capital Kampala after clashes with police.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described the Founder of the International Central gospel Church (ICCG), Mensah Otabil, as a threat to national security and a secret supporter of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). The Communications Director of the NDC, Solomon Nkansah,said on Thursday that Pastor Otabil was openly biased against the ruling party and was inciting the public against the government.

A Manchester Crown Court in the United Kingdom has increased the jail term of a Ghanaian immigrant, Francis Kofi Okrah, for raping a 22-year-old lesbian. Okrah, 36, is reported to have appealed his seven year jail sentence but had six weeks added to it. Okrah had gone to the court to have his jail term reduced claiming his trial was unfair because his barrister hadn’t made his victim cry in the witness box.

Richard Nyamah, AFAG

Mr. Richard Nyamah, the Spokesperson of pressure group, Progressive Nationalist Forum, has petitioned President John Mahama for the removal of the Electoral Commission Chairperson from office. Mr.Nyamah says Mrs. Charlotte Osei engaged in unconstitutional behaviour by holding another public offices in addition to her role as EC boss.

Many passengers traveling from the Northern part of the country to the Southern part are shunning the Metro Mass Transport buses in Tamale. The situation is as a result of management's failure to check-in buses to transport people to Accra and other parts of the country following Wednesday’s tragic accident.

The terminal was virtually empty. There were no buses traveling to Kumasi, Accra, Sunyani and Takoradi. There were few buses traveling only to the interior parts of the Northern region- Kpadai, Wulensi, Bimbila, Bole, Yagbon. Passengers travelling to these communities said they had no option but to join the buses to those areas. According to other passengers who refused to board the bus to Accra, overloading and failure of authorities to maintain the buses on regular basis contributed Wednesday’s fatal crash at Kintampo.

Akufo-Addo - NPP will increase cocoa production again

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party has assured cocoa farmers in Ghana of a massive overhaul of the sector if he wins powers. He said the objective is to ensure that the dwindling fortunes of the sector, as witnessed over the last eight years of the National Democratic Congress government, are reversed.

About five hundred passengers would have perished on board a Yeji-bound ferry from Makango near Tamale, but for the swift intervention of rescuers. The ferry, reported to have been overloaded with about four cars, other cargo and passengers, started sinking due to a leakage.

A medical doctor of the Kintampo Municipal Hospital has said the death toll in the Kintampo road carnage has risen to 71,. More passengers have lost their lives since news broke that 63 people including pregnant women, and children under 5 years had perished in the accident.

National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) is cash-strapped and this is impeding the smooth running of the Commission, according to the Manhyia South Member of Parliament (MP), Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, fondly called Napo.

Veteran journalist Abdul Kweku Baako Jnr has said government’s delay in making public a report on a controversial bus branding saga will undermine efforts it is making in dealing with corruption. The Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper said the Chief of Staff’s move to investigate and retrieve GHC1.9 million [revised down to GHC1.5million] will be brought to naught if the report is not made public. “I support the Chief of Staff’s initiative, but that initiative has been undermined substantially by the inability or failure or refusal to publish the Attorney General’s report especially when there has been persistent calls for the disclosure of the actual content of that report,” he said on Peace FM’s morning show ‘Kokrokoo’.

About 50 people are feared dead in a serious road accident on the Tamale-Kintampo stretch of road. The Wednesday road accident has built heavy traffic on the Tamale-Kumasi corridor road, as vehicles queue in wait for the accident scene to clear. Reports indicate the accident happened around 20:00 hours when a Kumasi bound Metro Mass bus collided head on with a truck carrying tomatoes believed to be traveling from Navrongo. All the passengers on the Metro Mass bus are feared dead.

EC doing the bidding of NDC - NPP accuses

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Charlotte Osei, of doing the bidding of the governing National Democratic Congress after three partisan names were included in a non-partisan committee formed by the EC.

MTN Ghana Foundation has donated over 1,645pints of blood to the National Blood Service (NBS) through a recent blood donation exercise that was conducted at its headquarters at the Independence Avenue in Accra. The annual Valentine’s Day blood donation campaign, dubbed ‘Save-a-Life’, was aimed at restocking the National Blood Bank as well as blood banks in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Effia-Nkwanta Hospital in Takoradi, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Bolgatanga Regional Hospital and Cape Coast Regional Hospital.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unity Group of Companies, Dr Kwame Kyei, has launched a peace campaign towards election 2016 in Accra recently. The peace campaign, under the auspices of Unity Group of Companies and its facilitators, is to promote peace and ensure stability during election 2016. Nana Oto Darko, a presenter at Light TV in Accra, in his opening remarks at the event, disclosed the core objective of the project, highlighting that the campaign is geared towards “becoming a voice that promotes peace, shared values and rule of law, human right, social and economic standards and to stop ambush politics in Ghana.”

File foto

A desperate rescue effort is underway in the waters of Mankrado in the Volta Region where a ferry carrying 500 people is reported to be sinking. The ferry was heading to Yeji in the Northern Volta but the load on the ferry appears to be too heavy.

VICE-PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s son, identified as Samora, reportedly survived a head-on collision that occurred at the Watershed College turn-off in Marondera on Monday morning. Police declined to comment over the accident, but sources said the crash involved Samora’s Ford Fiesta vehicle and a bread delivery truck coming from Marondera heading towards Harare.

A 64 year old man who has been renowned for inheriting widows in Homa Bay County has committed suicide after one of the inherited wives allegedly disowned him. Zackaria Asiago committed suicide in his house at Kanyuma Village, Kodera Karabach South Location, Rachuonyo south sub county.

The Zongo Movement for Change (ZOMOC) has asked the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to put forth an alternative programme for the Zongo communities and stop, as it put it, the desperate efforts at ridiculing the progressive Zongo Development Fund (ZDF) proposed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

A member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Karl Arhin, has stepped aside a steering committee set up by the Electoral Commission (EC) to deepen the credibility of the November 7 general elections.

The best bet for Ghanaians ahead of the November 7 elections is to vote massively for New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo. This, according to the party’s Director of Communications, Nana Akomea, is because his [Nana] track record as an astute lawyer and an incorruptible political makes him the best man standing among all the candidates contesting the elections including President John Mahama.

President John Dramani Mahama has asked Ghanaians to accept the "political rhetoric" that is polluting the election year as a normal development. Speaking at a meeting with Ghanaian students in Iran last Monday to wrap up his three-day state visit to the Islamic Republic, the President said the development must, therefore, not be seen as a recipe for disturbances.

A 12 billion old cedis three-storey office complex to serve as the new Western Regional office of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has opened old wounds among the already divided regional executives of the party. Information available to the paper indicates that the three storey office complex, which was purchased by the Regional Chairman -Michael Aidoo, aka Big Aidoo, was in fulfillment of a promise made to the party during the 2012 campaign.

Yaounde — Cameroon's government says its soldiers have retaken the northeastern town of Goshi from Boko Haram, killing 162 militants in a weekend operation. Communications minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said late Monday that Cameroon special forces also freed about 100 people being held by the extremists, including Cameroonians and Nigerians.

Ghanaian artiste, Wanlov Da Kubolor, has disclosed he has once had sex with two people at the same time. According to Wanlov, he had sex with one lady and another guy concurrently under one roof. “I once had a threesome with a lady and another guy”, he said.

The Minority in Parliament has accused the Speaker, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho of blocking their moves to ascertain why the President accepted the two former detainees from Guantanamo Bay into the country. Although the Minister of Foreign Affairs is scheduled to address the House on the issue on Friday in a closed-door session, the Minority has given the impression that moves initiated by them were being held back by the Speaker of Parliament.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) seems to be running away from a legal battle a dismissed accountant of the party has initiated, even as details are emerging about how the ruling party paid GHC5,544,630 to the Electoral Commission (EC) – the reason for which is yet to be established.

A steering committee recently inaugurated by the Electoral Commission ahead of the November polls is biased towards the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and, thus, must be dissolved, pressure group Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) has demanded. In a statement issued Tuesday February 16 and signed by Convenor David Asante, the group said it is “worried about the bizarre manner that the Charlotte-Osei-led Electoral Commission is preparing towards this year's general elections.” It cites three reasons to back its argument.

Two students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology are on admission at the university’s hospital in Kumasi after they were stabbed in a clash between residents of the Katanga and Continental halls of the university.

Bishop Daniel Obinim of the International Gods Way Chapel has expressed shock that he is the only pastor in Ghana capable of turning into a snake and back into a human being. “Some people say they have never heard of a pastor who can move into the spiritual realms and then turn into different animals. I was waiting to hear from at least one other pastor that he also has that special anointing to also turn into animals or other things, but I have realised that in this country, I am the only one. I am unique; I am one in town,” Obinim told his congregation.

The man arrested for allegedly killing Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North constituency, Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu, has told investigators that he went to the MP’s house to steal, not to kill. According to the charge sheet, the suspect, Daniel Asiedu, 19, said he had to defend himself when in the process of stealing, the MP woke up and held him, according to the charge sheet.

This is the heartbreaking moment a starving two-year-old Nigerian boy is given water by a charity worker after being left for dead by his family because they thought he was a witch. The boy, now named Hope, was found emaciated and riddled with worms after being forced to live off scraps thrown to him by passersby for eight months.

Lilongwe – A court in Malawi's northern region has ordered the country's director of prosecutions and the police to arrest those found engaging in homosexual activities. The instruction, according to Malawi24, came after pastors in the Mzuzu area filed a court application calling for people in same sex relationships to be prosecuted.

Residents of Wahab Close in EJigbo in Lagos State, western Nigeria, were stunned by the drama that played out in their area after a pastor who sneaked into a man’s house to make love with the man’s wife was caught in the act. The pastor, who had already pulled off his pair of trousers and soutane, ran out wearing only his underwear when the man, known as Vitalis Okere, barged into his home.

Man chops off his penis on Valentine's eve

Thika - A 24-year-old Kenyan man from Kiganjo village, in Thika sub-county, is undergoing treatment after chopping off his penis on the eve of Valentine's Day. Duncan Moseti, 24, is said to have picked a quarrel with his wife over an alleged love affair on Saturday morning.

He first attempted to cut off her breasts with a knife, but later ended up chopping off his penis, accusing his wife of cheating on him with his brother. A doctor at Thika Level V hospital where the couple was admitted told NTV: "He chopped off his manhood completely. He is currently at the theatre undergoing reconstructive surgery." She however confirmed that the woman had been treated and was in a stable condition, adding that it would be difficult to treat the husband.

Kenya launches voter registration for 2017 polls

Nairobi - Kenya launched a voter registration drive on Monday for elections in August 2017, in a bid to push numbers to a record 25 million voters. "We are urging Kenyans to turn up in large numbers and register as voters," Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chief Isaack Hassan said at the launch in Nairobi.

India: Stage catches fire during cultural extravaganza

A massive fire broke out an event in Mumbai meant to showcase India as an attractive destination for billions of dollars of foreign investment. There were no casualties from Sunday night's fire, and the weeklong "Make in India" event was not cancelled.

Barbara Asher Ayisi the New Patriotic Party’s parliamentary candidate for Cape Coast North, has rejected reports that the man who attacked her on Saturday is mentally unstable. The 22-year-old man broke into the house of the parliamentary candidate wielding an iron rod and a knife, while he searched frantically for her. He pushed aside the parliamentary candidate’s driver who tried to stop him and broke the windscreens of a red saloon car parked on the compound.

Mrs. Barbara Asher Ayisi

There has been another assassination attempt on the Cape Coast North New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary candidate for 2016 Mrs. Barbara Asher Ayisi. The incident which occurred on Saturday morning comes in less than a week after the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North Joseph Boakye Danquah Adu was stabbed to death at his Shiashi residence at East Legon in Accra.

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has petitioned the National Media Commission (NMC) over what it calls unethical broadcasting at Montie FM, an affiliate station of Accra-based Radio Gold. In a petition filed last Monday and signed by its Director of Communications, Nana Akomea, the NPP accused Montie FM which transmits on 100.1 MHz and host of its ‘Pampaso’ afternoon political talk programme, Mugabe Maase, of unprofessional conduct.

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS HEAD OFFICE – ACCRA

The Ayawaso Central constituency of the governing National Democratic Congress has suspended all party activities in protest of what it termed “negative interference” in it affairs. The constituency which is blaming the leadership of the party at the region for the current woes wants three people held responsible for any untoward development in the aftermath of the suspension.

The controversy over the award of a monopoly licence to Afriwave Telecom Ghana Limited by the National Communications Authority (NCA) to operate interconnect clearing house (ICH) for telecom companies in the country has taken a new twist, with a revelation that the NCA purported evaluation report was unsigned.

Mr Freddie Blay, the acting National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, has described President Mahama’s intention “to put money into the pockets of Ghanaians” in 2016 as a sign of mediocrity. According to him, the government is incapable and is only good at “bringing cost and inflating cost in the country”. “The government is unable to provide crude oil, they cannot pay for energy and that’s where the incompetence is.

A 30-year-old man stabbed his girlfriend to death on Valentine’s Day for refusing him sex. The incident happened at Suminakese in the Eastern Region. Ebenezer Yaw Darko, also known as ‘Power’, went into a fit of rage after his girlfriend, Yaa Nimakoa, 26, on whom he spent GHS500 on Valentine’s Day, refused him sex to climax the day for lovers.

A father of three choked to death as he tried to eat a McDonald’s cheeseburger in one mouthful, an inquest has heard. Darren Bray, 29, of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, blacked out as he ate the 99p burger following a night out with friends in October 2015. Cardiff Coroner’s Court heard Mr Bray, who had been drinking, but not enough to affect his judgement, died from a blockage to his airway.

Pages