Police drops charges against independent parliamentary candidate

Awal Mohammed, an independent parliamentary candidate for the Madina constituency, who was allegedly featured alongside John Mahama on campaign posters, has been discharged by the Adentan Circuit Court following the police’s withdrawal of the case.

Awal Mohammed was arrested and brought before the court after Abdul Razak Hussein, the Madina constituency secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), lodged a complaint. He faced charges of offensive conduct related to breaches of the peace but pleaded not guilty before the presiding judge, Mrs. Sedinam Awo Kwadam.

Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo, the prosecutor, informed the court that the complainant, Hussein, is the NDC Secretary for the Madina Constituency, and that both he and Mohammed are residents of the area.

The court heard that Mohammed, a former member of the NDC, chose to submit a nomination form as an independent candidate when the Electoral Commission opened applications for parliamentary candidates.

According to the prosecution, Hussein received multiple complaints from party members regarding Mohammed’s activities.

They alleged that Mohammed had put up posters featuring himself alongside NDC presidential candidate John Mahama at prominent locations throughout the constituency.

Party members, particularly the youth, expressed concern over the posters, fearing they could disrupt peace in the area, the prosecution stated.

Following the complaint, the police invited Mohammed to provide a caution statement. While he denied putting up the posters, he admitted to using the name of the NDC flag bearer during his public campaigns.