Around 10am on voting day in Talensi, July 7, a police check point at Winkogo, Talensi, found a fully loaded AK 47 in the back seat of a new black Toyota Landcruiser 4x4.
Sitting next to the loaded assault rifle was the National Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress, Kofi Portuphy.
The former NADMO chairman could not justify why he was carrying a semi-automatic machine gun in his car on his way to monitor a public by-election.
But, the Police, not intimidated by his stature as chairman of the ruling party, took the gun and decided to invite him to the Talensi District Police Station for questioning.
Mr Portuphy called the NDC Regional Secretary, a lawyer, to represent him.
To the frustration of the patrol officers who did their professional duty to take on Mr Portuphy for allegedly carrying an unlicensed assault rifle in a public place, the District Commander decided to take no further action, apologised to the NDC chairman for the insubordination shown by his subordinate officers and respectfully asked Mr Portuphy to go about doing his political work.
But, the other officers, unhappy with the turn of events, decided to leak the information to the media, including the original police report of the incident.
Three days later, the ruling party, in conspiracy with National Security and the Police cooked up a bizarre story.
The cooked up story is that the NDC Chairman had with him a National Security operative who was licensed to carry the gun and that the gun had been officially released to him to offer protection to the senior politician.
But, a police officer in Bolgatanga, who was part of those who made the arrest, laughed off the story.
"So what stopped that so-called National Security operative from disclosing his identity when we stopped him? Why was it that it was the politician who rather claimed responsibility for the rifle and not his driver or bodyguard?” he wonders.
He went on to say that the Police would not have even taken the gun away if they had been told of these facts.
"We were not allowed to do our work. Simple as that. There was so many weapons in the town that day and if our hands were tied how were we expected to maintain law and order," he lamented.
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