The Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, says supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been devastated by the sentencing of the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
Mr Baffour Awuah described Chairman Wontumi as a key figure in the party whose conviction had deeply affected its members.
“Wontumi is no ordinary person. He’s the chairman of the party in the Ashanti Region, the largest constituency of the party, and so if anything like this has happened to him, definitely it is not something which is light. We can’t take it lightly at all, and so it’s something which has devastated us,” he said.
The Manhyia South MP said the party closely monitored the trial and was surprised by the outcome based on the evidence presented in court.
“We as a party followed the proceedings, and we are very surprised because if you look at the evidence that was tendered, even though we are yet to see the judgment, we want to appreciate the basis upon which a court can convict on evidence which, in our view, was very porous,” he stated.
Mr Baffour Awuah said the party was awaiting the full written judgment to understand the court’s reasoning.
“Indeed, we are not surprised that the judge, in reading the judgment, admitted to the absence of direct evidence…And so, clearly, in the absence of direct evidence, we want to understand how the burden of proof, which is beyond reasonable doubt, was discharged.
“We are waiting to see the judgment, see how the judge evaluated the evidence and came to the conclusion that she has come to. If the record of proceedings we have is anything to go by, we think there has been a travesty,” he added.