INUSAH FUSEINI REJECTS NPP’S ‘POLITICAL PRISONER’ CLAIM OVER WONTUMI

Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central and former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Inusah Fuseini, has dismissed claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is a political prisoner following his 20-year jail sentence. Speaking on a media platform in Accra, Mr Fuseini argued that Wontumi’s imprisonment resulted from a court conviction for violating the country’s laws and not because of his political beliefs or affiliation. “Wontumi is not a political prisoner. Everybody should disabuse his mind of that statement. He is not a political prisoner. He is a common prisoner. He’s a common criminal,” Mr Fuseini stated. He explained that the term “political prisoner” applies to individuals jailed because of their political beliefs or ideological convictions, insisting that Wontumi’s circumstances do not fit that description. “Political prisoners are imprisoned because of their beliefs. What beliefs was he fighting for that sent him to jail? What was his ideological persuasion that was contrary to the existing governance arrangement that sent him to jail? He could not have been a political prisoner,” he said. Mr Fuseini further questioned the basis of the NPP’s characterisation of Wontumi as a political prisoner, noting that the Ashanti Regional Chairman was tried and convicted by “a court of competent jurisdiction” after being found to have breached the laws of Ghana. “How can you say that somebody who has been held by a court of competent jurisdiction to have violated the laws of the country is a political prisoner?” he asked. The former minister also stressed the need for honesty and respect for the rule of law in public discourse, cautioning against attaching political labels to criminal convictions. “As a country of laws, and one that is intended on ensuring there is civility in our engagement, there is honesty in the way we relate to facts and issues. You might not agree, I might not agree, but that doesn’t mean that we should label a common prisoner as a political prisoner. No, he’s not,” Mr Fuseini said. His comments come amid claims by the NPP that Chairman Wontumi’s conviction and 20-year prison sentence amount to political persecution, a position Mr Fuseini strongly rejected.