Short Commission: Sam George Didn’t Cause Agitation – Key Witness

A key witness in the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence has debunked reports that Sam George, the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram caused the agitation of the group gathered before the house of the then NDC Parliamentary candidate, Delali Kwesi Brempong.

Bright Ernest Akomea, popularly known as ‘Double’ had indicated that Sam George caused the agitation that led to the violence at the La-Bawaleshie polling station.

"Sam George got there when we started the search . . . Before his arrival; they all agreed that we search the car. When he got there, he asked why we were intimidating his people and I told him that there were a lot of people there so he should go back for us to do the search, and he insisted on stopping us from doing the search and the people also started agitating. When we were pushing them back they started throwing stones and water at us; the water from the house and the stones from the crowd," he indicated when he appeared before the Emile Short Commission.

But Hamid Amadu, a pure water supplier who was a victim of the violence said the confrontation was not caused by Sam George.

Taking his turn at the Commission which ended its public hearing today, Amadu said the chaos occurred after the operatives seized a key to their Mahindra vehicle.

According to him, they were in the car getting ready to supply breakfast to polling agents when the operatives approached them demanding to search the car.

"However, before they requested for the key, they asked to search the car and I demanded for their search warrant but I was not given . . . when we got to the park, I identified one of them . . . they pounced on me and I was put in a pick up to the East Legon police station and I was detained and I heard some of our big men came to the police station. The police allowed the big men to interact with us . . . later we were released and issued with police medical forms and conveyed to the hospital for treatment," he recounted.