There are times he will be bundled in car boot because of NDC – NPP MP on late Akwatia MP

Nana Asafo‑Adjei Ayeh, Member of Parliament for Bosome-Freho, has opened up about the difficult experience the late Ernest Yaw Kumi, former MP for Akwatia, went through during his short time in Parliament.

Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, Asafo-Adjei revealed that despite winning his seat with a margin of over 2,000 votes, Kumi faced unrelenting legal and political pressure that denied him peace throughout his brief tenure.

“There are people in parliament who are sitting there with less than 20 votes difference and they have peace, sound of mind and they are going about the business. My brother won with over 2,000 votes difference, yet that young man could not have peace, could not have serenity to live as an MP,” he lamented.

He described the extraordinary measures Kumi had to take to evade court summons and potential arrest during the six months he served as MP, including being smuggled into Parliament in a car boot and spending nights there to avoid legal threats.

“There [were] times Ernest would have to be bundled in a car boot to be brought to Parliament because the Minority and NDC [were] looking for him everywhere with court injunction or court summons. Ernest would have to sleep in Parliament… Yet this guy never enjoyed a bit of who an MP true so called is. He could not even make a statement in Parliament – sharp young guy – because they wouldn’t allow him to. They called him a fugitive, an MP… What was his crime? Just to serve the good people of Akwatia.”

Asafo-Adjei further revealed that nearly all of Kumi’s parliamentary salary was spent on legal fees rather than on fulfilling his legislative duties.

“Virtually all the salary that Ernest got was used to pay lawyers… What was his crime? Just to serve and make laws for the country,” he stressed.

Ernest Yaw Kumi passed away on July 7, 2025, after a short illness.