MP fumes over arrest of UGMC campaigner

There is not enough evidence to show that the campaigner arrested at a public event Wednesday for hoisting a placard and walking toward the first lady was protesting, the MP for South Dayi has argued.

Rockson Dafeamekpor believes Reginald Sekyi Brown, a student of the University of Ghana had the right to do what he did and that his arrest was completely needless.

“…so the question is that is it [the message on his placard] directed at the first lady? Is the first lady the President of the Republic of Ghana? So how can anyone construe that the information the gentleman had on the placard was directed at the first lady,” he fumed.

Police comment on arrest

Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Police Service ACP David Eklu says Reginald was arrested because he was deemed a potential security threat to the first lady and the other VIPs present. 

“It is not about the message he was carrying, but his posture. That is what we were concerned about,” he said, adding “he was holding a placard, an object and he was holding a backpack and no one knew the contents of it.” he told Joy FM's Super Morning Show Thursday.

He added that after preliminary investigations they found that he didn't have any harmful weapons on him and he was released. 

"...and anytime we need him, he will be called,” he said

Mr Dafeamekpor argued, however, that Reginald should just have been cautioned and shouldn’t have ended up at the police station.

“The best they could do was to say you are not invited here and take him out,” he said.

Member of Parliament for Sekondi, Andrews Agyapa Mercer who was also on the show argued in favour of the police, saying that the law enforcement personnel were simply doing their work since they believed the young man had violated the law.

MP for Sekondi Andrews A. Mercer

Meanwhile, Reginald is expected to report to the police on Friday for investigations to continue.

Press Secretary to the first lady, Richard Darko has stated that Mrs Akufo-Addo is uninterested in the case.

“First Lady is not interested in the pursuing the case,” he said.

The health facility in question, University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) was built by the erstwhile government and commissioned by the then President John Mahama, some three days before he handed over the reins of power.

The state spent some $270 million to build the facility but more than a year after it’s commissioning, the facility remains closed.

The Health Ministry argues that the phase two of the project which will cost some $50 million needs to be completed before the facility can be used. That amount has since been approved by Parliament. 

Related: $50m approved for completion of UG Medical Centre

Health Minister Kweku Agyeman Manu has also recently said backup generators will need to be procured due to the unstable power from the national grid before the facilities can be used.

This he said would protect sensitive equipment like MRI machines from malfunctioning.

Related: Health Minister exposed? UG Medical center has a standby generator

Joy News checks, however, revealed that there are at least two generators sitting idle on the premises of the facility.

The campaign to get the centre opened in the meantime continues to gather momentum. 

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