Videos: Five journalists assaulted by NDC thugs at RCC

Five journalists have been assaulted by some heavily built men of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC ) at the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) during the elections of the Region’s council of state representative.

The victims include Gideon Nana Peprah, Akwasi Oppong, Kofi Adade, Atta K Henry and Charles Awuah Mensah, alias Papa That of Ghanaweb, Angel FM, Oyerepa radio/TV, Oseikrom Dawuro newspaper and Lawson FM/TV respectively.

The journalists were attacked during the sorting and counting out of the ballot papers when the thugs attacked them in the full glare of the police presence.

Akwasi Oppong who suffered severe injuries from the attack has been taken to the hospital.

The process which began peacefully was marred by the thugs when they realised that the sorted ballot papers belonging to the Chief of Agric Nsima, Nana Nkansah Boadu Ayeboafo looked more than his main contender, Yaw Owusu Obimpeh, a former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC.

One of the NDC Executive whose name is not known at the time signalled the thugs who simultaneously scattered the ballot papers while destroying the ballot boxes.

They then pounced on the journalists beating them indiscriminately.

Kofi Adade was heckled down by the assaultees and subjected him to severe beatings while others stepped on him, resulting in him bleeding profusely.

Gideon Peprah received slaps from the back from the machomen before his Press Identity Card and phone were taken from him after deleting the videos and pictures he has taken.

The policemen on the ground were seen standing aloof and perplexed while the perpetrators were subjecting the poor journalists to inhumane treatment.

At one point Charles Awuah Mensah was also confronted by the thugs and confiscated his mobile phone to wipe out the pictures and videos he has taken from the scene.

Reliable sources from the scene indicate that the thugs were transported from Obuasi to cause this dastardly action.

Twelve candidates contested for the position to represent the region at the flagstaff house.
They are Nana Nkansah Boadu Ayeboafo, Rose Hamilton, Fredrick Adjei, Nana Yaw Akuoko, Alexander Nti, Nana Gyedu Kumanij IV.

Others include Nana Kusi Ampofo II, Angel Yirenkyi, Nana Foriwaa Adwoa, Daniel Anarfi Yamoah, Agyei Bismark and Yaw Owusu Obimpeh.

“As part of our jobs as journalists it is our responsibility to capture what is going on for Ghanaians to see so before entering the premises of the elections the police conducted a thorough search on me to find out whether I qualify to enter truly I qualified.

We got in and started capturing what was going on. It got to a point where the Electoral Commission was doing sorting and counting, and during that moment, all the media guys around were capturing. From nowhere, we saw some heavily built thugs entering the election venue and started causing chaos,” Gideon Nana Peprah of GhanaWeb shared his ordeal with this portal.

“They scattered everything, and at some point, the ballot boxes got destroyed, scattering the ballot boxes in the process. I was about to leave the scene when three heavily built guys surrounded me and confiscated my phone while others beat me pitilessly. They asked me to delete what I have captured, and before I could say a word, one of them from nowhere slapped me from behind. Another one used an object to hit my mouth, and that is why you see blood oozing pit of my mouth like this,” he further narrated.

Meanwhile, Gideon discolsed to this medium that he was going to make a formal complaint to the police and attend hospital later.