Deputy General Secretary of the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho, says the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP’s) use of external security consultants to train the security detail of Nana Addo and Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, is alien to local politics, and thus a cause for concern.
The party has in an official response to the brouhaha over the presence of three retired South African police officers, stated that the men are not criminals, and that the party did no wrong engaging their services.
The three South African ex-police officers were arrested in the Central Region by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), over their alleged involvement in activities which officials say poses a national security threat.
The three, Major Ahmed Shaik (retd), 54; Warrant Officer Denver Dwahye, 33, and Captain Mlungiseli Jokani, 45 – were picked up at the EL-Capitano Hotel at Agona Duakwa in the Central Region, where they had been based since arriving in the country early this month.
The NPP has been linked to the incident because those who were being trained by the men in various unarmed security drills, included sixteen members of the party’s private security detail for the elections this November.
The party has since taken issue with the state newspaper, the Daily Graphic, for allegedly putting a spin on the story to create a negative impression about them. The Daily Graphic on Tuesday, March 22, headlined a front page story titled ‘3 South Africans arrested for acts likely to compromise national security’.
Critics and particularly members of the incumbent NDC administration, have suggested the NPP imported mercenaries to train persons to cause trouble in the November elections.
But the NPP has rubbished the allegation saying the NDC is only seeking to score cheap political points.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News, Mr. Ayindoho stated that the three men came into the country with business visas and that did not permit them to engage in security training, hence their arrest.
“The matter at hand is the fact that three South Africans came into the country on a business visa. A business visa does not allow them to engage in the kind of things that they were engaged,” the NDC Deputy General Secretary noted.
Mr Ayindoh also described as worrying the fact they were allegedly found with documents profiling some politicians.
“The kinds of documents that were found in their possession; profiling persons working for a certain company, profiling politicians and then deciding how to deal with those persons leaves room for worry.”
He further commended the BNI for picking up the people he identifies as ‘mercenaries’.
“Protect yourself as much as you want but if you go and bring in mercenaries who have come with false representation that they are business people but they are here training people, for me I want to commend the BNI and the security agencies for being on top of their briefs and picking those men up.”
Source: citifmonline.com
