Kwasi Kwarteng, campaign spokesperson for Kennedy Agyapong, has finally addressed one of Ghana’s most debated political controversies explaining why Agyapong referred to New Patriotic Party (NPP) members as “fools” in 2015.
In an interview with Radio Tamale 91.7FM monitored by Kumasimail, Kwarteng didn’t just defend the remark, he revealed a gripping story of betrayal, political intrigue, and the high stakes of party loyalty.
He emphasized that the explosive comment didn’t come out of nowhere.
Kwarteng asserted “Let’s take it case by case. Alot of the bad publicity surrounding Kennedy, and the problems he finds himself in, have always arisen from situations where he is defending the party.
“For example, when he labeled some party members as ‘fools.’ The context is very important. What was the context? The context was that the top party hierarchy including former President, Mr. Osafo Marfo and Gabi Asare-Otchere Darko, very high-profile party figures had met in a room to hold a discussion. Then, one of them, a party member, secretly recorded the meeting and leaked it to an NDC-affiliated radio station.”
He stressed that the leak posed a serious threat not only to the unity of the party but also to the peace and stability of the nation as a whole.
Kwarteng stated “And this almost generated a tribal conflict between the Asantes and the Akyems. It was against this background.
“If you can look your party members in the face, record them, and give the recording to the media to play, I don’t think there is any other description that fits better,” he indicated.
Kwarteng added that in light of this betrayal, Kennedy Agyapong’s harsh characterization was a direct and candid reaction to the disloyalty and breach of trust within the party ranks.
“So, I believe that in all the descriptions being given about him, context is very important,” he added.
When asked why the Agyapong camp has waited so long nearly eight years to clarify the meaning behind the remark, Kwarteng suggested the timing is linked to internal party dynamics.
“I think the question should rather be reversed: why is it that this issue has only come up now, especially since the 2023 primaries, with party members using it against him? It was never a problem before. It has only become an issue since we entered an internal contest, when some party members schemed to use it against him and created the impression that he is a man who does not respect party members.”
Kwarteng also highlighted that Kennedy Agyapong has maintained good relations with many within the party and has never personally had conflicts with investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, despite their public disagreements.
He noted “Look, Kennedy himself has never had any personal problem with Anas. Anas has never conducted any investigation targeting him specifically. However, all the conflicts and attacks between them have been in defense of the party.
“At one point, Anas did carry out investigations into the party, although the model and methods he used are a separate matter for discussion. Kennedy was courageous enough to challenge him, saying, ‘Look, the methodology and approach you use amount to blackmail, which is unprofessional and does not meet the standards of journalism,” Kwasi Kwarteng explained the origins of the disagreements between Anas and Kennedy Agyapong.
Kwarteng further defended Agyapong’s confrontations with Anas, framing them as efforts to protect the party from what he described as unprofessional investigative methods.
“When Anas’s investigations led to legal challenges abroad, some party members prematurely celebrated, but Kennedy stood firm in highlighting flaws in the methodology.”
However, Kwarteng argued by asking, “So for me, the question should rather be, why is it that It’s only in 2023 coming, that is where these issues have become profound, that Kennedy Agyapong has been insulting party people.”
Background:
The former Member of Parliament for Assin North in the Central Region, Kennedy Agyapong unleashed verbal attacks on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for their handling of the Osafo Maafo leaked tape.
According to him, there was nothing wrong with what Osafo Maafo was quoted to have said in the tape and that it was wrong for the NPP to disassociate themselves from the comments of their stalwart.
In an interview on Adom TV, the firebrand NPP MP condemned his political party [NPP] and said they will continue to be in opposition as long as they continue with their “book-long” behaviour.
Noted for being a brash oftentimes in the NPP and speaking in the local language twi, interspersed with English, Mr Agyapong described members of the NPP as senseless and “fools.” They are “bogus,” he said and expressed regret being a member of the party.
He said because of their “book-long” attitude, “NPP will stay in opposition forever.”
He expressed disappointment over why Osafo Maafo in a conversation with his own political party people would be recorded secretly and leaked to the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). He said there was no way members of the NDC would go to a meeting and record themselves secretly and leak to their opponent.
“Do you know the things they [NDC] say, the strategies they put in place?”
Why then would someone from the NPP Council of Elders in the Eastern Region, when they met Osafo Maafo and he was giving them strategy, he would be secretly recorded. He described such a move as senseless.
He recalled that when Nana Akufo-Addo was quoted as being tribalistic with his “Yen Akanfuor” speech, he spoke to NPP members but someone recorded it and leaked it.
Again he asked, has anybody in the NDC ever recorded any of their meetings and leaked it to the NPP? “I am not sure the NPP is ready to come to power.”
He said issues of hardships and difficulties in the country have been relegated to the background only for NPP people to be recording themselves secretly and leaking it to the NDC to do propaganda with it and therefore described NPP members as, “idiots, stupid people. I don’t know why I belong to that political party. They are idiots,” he said.
He condemned the party for disassociating itself from Osafo Maafo with regard to the leaked tape and said there was nothing wrong with Mr Osafo Maafo’s comments especially as he did not insult anybody.
He said people were proud of their ethnic lineage irrespective of being Ewes, Gas or Northerners. “Why is it that when someone expresses himself of being a proud Akan, people have a problem with that? Are Akans not human too?”
Source: www.kumasimail.com /Kwadwo Owusu
