Former Parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Adentan, Akosua Manu, has strongly condemned the Kumasi Mayor, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, over his threat to physically assault traders operating along pavements, describing the Mayor’s actions as a recipe for chaos and lawlessness.
Akosua Manu called for the immediate dismissal of the Mayor, saying his comments and posture were unbefitting of any public officeholder and should not be tolerated under a democratic system.
“What I do not understand is that somebody put into a leadership role can stand in front of people to warn or threaten that physical assault will be a given. And I am shocked to hear that when he was called, he reiterated the position,” she said.
In her view, the Mayor should not only be reprimanded but completely removed from office for reiterating a position that supports physical violence as a method of enforcement.
She argued that such a stance undermines democratic governance and sends a dangerous message to other leaders across the country.
“He should have been the shortest-serving appointee in this government. Upon hearing that he had repeated physical assault as a likely punishment to deter hawkers, as soon as he said that, the President should have called the Chief of Staff to remove him from office. In no way in our governance should that be tolerated, from anybody,” she declared.
Akosua Manu insisted that reiterating such a position is indefensible, especially in a government that has consistently promoted the rule of law and nonviolence.
“For reiterating that point, I am saying by now if it was Nana Akufo Addo’s government, KMA Mayor would have been withdrawn, and a new person will be appointed. There is no justification for reiterating,” she said.
She also warned that allowing the Kumasi Mayor’s actions to go unchecked would set a dangerous precedent, potentially inspiring other city leaders to adopt similar methods and would only lead to disorder and the erosion of civil enforcement standards across the country.
“He is creating an avenue for chaos. This template let’s say, he does it, Accra Mayor will also follow, then Tamale. If his boys will do the work, he should bear in mind that it has to be in a very civil way; it should be in a very humane way. Nobody should beat anyone,” she cautioned.
