Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Development Fund Dr. Hannah Bissiw, has refused to sympathize with former Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister, Hawa Koomson, who was allegedly assaulted during chaotic scenes at the St. Peter’s polling station in Ablekuma North during the parliamentary rerun.
Reacting to reports of violence during the electoral process, Bissiw condemned all forms of electoral violence but made it clear that she would not show empathy to someone she described as a past perpetrator of political violence.
“As a former Member of Parliament, during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, when she came with about thirty thugs, I was beaten. When the police came to my car, they chased me,” Bissiw recounted.
“I want to put on record that any form of electoral violence, I condemn it. I want that to be on clear record. But let nobody ask me, a victim of Hawa Koomson, to sympathize or empathize with her,” she stated.
Bissiw described Koomson’s actions during past incidents as unforgivable and insisted that calls for her to show concern or remorse over what happened to the Minister were misplaced.
“If you say payback time, it means I should have gone to slap her. I don’t think she even deserves my slap. I’d be wasting my hands and my slap. But what I’m saying is that I’m a victim of Hawa Koomson. She turned and stood. She laughed when I was being beaten.” she added
Drawing attention to other instances of electoral violence, Bissiw questioned why sympathy should be extended to Koomson now, when families of victims in places like Kasoa have yet to receive justice or public concern.
“What about those who were killed in Kasoa? What will you say to their family members? What about our own Member of Parliament at Kasoa and what she went through?” she quizzed.
Reiterating her position, Bissiw said she had no advice for Koomson and rejected suggestions that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had anything to do with the violence reported during the Ablekuma North rerun.
She maintained that her priority was to secure a win for Ewurabena, the NDC’s parliamentary candidate for Ablekuma North, Ewurabena Aubynn and secure another seat in Parliament to shore up their seats to 184.
“My only sister, Ewurabena, is winning. That’s my interest. That is my prime interest. And thank God that today is calm, because I am a victim of electoral violence. A victim of the violence of Hawa Koomson.”
Her comments follow news that Hawa Koomson, along with NPP candidate Akua Afriyie and other party agents, sustained injuries during clashes at the St. Peter’s polling station earlier today. Security has since been reinforced at affected centers, and the Electoral Commission continues to supervise the rerun under heightened surveillance with few minutes to close of polls