The man who lost an eye in a Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) demonstration to demand a new voters’ register has revealed that he wept uncontrollably after the Electoral Commissioner declared Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as President-elect of Ghana.
Justice Adzakuma told Adomonline.com’s Kwaku Nti in an exclusive interview from his Accra New Town residence that he was forced to retire to his room and cry his heart out upon hearing the announcement of Nana Addo as the President-elect.
“That day when Nana Addo was declared President-elect, I cried, indeed I wept bitterly largely because I remembered how people lost their lives in this struggle and someone like me also lost an eye, so I wept before I started consoling myself…,” he said.
37-year-old Justice Adzakuma had his left eye damaged after security operatives charged on protesters following misunderstanding over route in their bid to picket at the EC office to demand a credible voters’ register.
Adzakuma is one of the many protesters who suffered various levels of injury during the protests organised by the David Asante-led LMVCA.
The protest, which was aimed at putting pressure on the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voter’s register for the 2016 elections, turned bloody after Police fired rubber bullets, sprayed tear gas and water cannons to scatter the crowd.
The group’s protest followed the New Patriotic Party’s claim that it had uncovered thousands of ghost names in the voter’s register, deeming it not credible.
Several protesters were seen injured in shots and videos which were taken on that day.
Vivid pictures of Police brutality against protesters who Police accused of being violent were circulated on social media.
Head of Public Affairs for Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Cephas Arthur defended the Police´s stance saying that they had to contain the protesters with minimal force.
The Police claimed they had to respond after they were pelted with stones by the protesters.
Wife returns
The shoe seller whose left eye is no longer functioning said he still joined forces and campaigned with the NPP after a successful operation.
His wife, who according to him abandoned their matrimonial home after he lost his eye also returned to him after Nana Addo’s victory.
“Some of my neighbours told my wife that the NPP was not going to win the elections, so she should abandon me, so she left, but the day Nana Addo was declared winner, she returned home and I accepted her together with the children…,” he said.
Justice Adzakuma was optimistic that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was going to deliver on his promises and hence called on Ghanaians to rally behind as he takes over the mantle of leadership.
He further indicated his readiness to contest for the position in the NPP in the near future.
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