Hawa Koomson narration of the assaults gave me goosebumps – Akosua Manu

The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2024 parliamentary candidate for Adentan, Akosua Manu, has expressed strong support for former Fisheries Minister Mavis Hawa Koomson following the recent violent incident during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun.

She insists that the former Minister was unfairly targeted and had no intention of provoking any confrontation.

In an interview with Channel One TV, Akosua Manu shared Koomson’s account of the events. She stated that the former Minister was at the polling station peacefully when she was suddenly attacked. According to Koomson, she only used pepper spray in self-defence after perceiving a threat from one of the attackers, who appeared to be holding a weapon.

“Her narration gave me goosebumps,” Manu said. “She mentioned that at one polling station, as she was entering, she was told she could only go in with one person. At the time, police personnel were next to her.

“She and her team were making rounds. While she observed proceedings, her personal security stayed back a bit. Suddenly, she heard people saying ‘where is she, where is she,’ and when she looked up, she saw a group of young men approaching her.

“She recognised one of them. They charged at her. She said she saw something that looked like a weapon, and that’s when she quickly reached for her pepper spray. She said if it weren’t for the spray slowing them down, the situation could have been worse. Mind you, she didn’t go there to cause confusion,” Manu said.

Mrs. Manu condemned the attack as political aggression and urged all political actors and stakeholders to denounce violence—especially during democratic exercises that should promote peace and representation.