By Daniel Bampoe
What should have been a peaceful democratic exercise in the Ablekuma North Constituency on Friday, July 11, 2025, turned into a disturbing display of lawlessness, chaos, and physical violence — with one of the prominent female politicians at the receiving end.
Former Minister for Special Development Initiatives and Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Mavis Hawa Koomson, infamously nicknamed Kasoa Vandame for her tough political persona, was violently assaulted at the St. Peter’s Society Methodist Church polling station in Odorkor during the parliamentary rerun.
Video footage captured the moment she was thrown to the ground and stomped in the chest and groin by unidentified men believed to be aligned with the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
A Rerun Riddled With Violence
The parliamentary rerun was ordered by the Electoral Commission following irregularities in the December 7, 2024, general elections, which rendered results from 19 polling stations unauthenticated.
With just 448 votes separating the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh, from her NDC rival, Ewurabena Aubynn, the rerun had over 6,800 votes up for grabs — enough to swing the seat and potentially influence parliamentary control.
But instead of a democratic order, the rerun was marked by disturbing scenes: assaults on political candidates, beatings of journalists, and systemic voter intimidation.
Armed thugs — some on motorbikes, others in pickup trucks — stormed multiple polling centres. In the chaos, several journalists, including Salomey Martey of Multimedia Group and Kwabena Agyekum Banahene of EIB Network, were assaulted.
One GHOne TV reporter was slapped by a uniformed police officer, Chief Superintendent Lumor in full public view.
Hawa Koomson Targeted
The attack on Hawa Koomson stunned many across the political divide. She was reportedly visiting polling centres to observe proceedings when she was physically attacked.
Eyewitnesses say she was targeted specifically by a group of “macho men” — a tactic reminiscent of politically motivated thuggery that has marred past elections in Ghana.
Rumours swirled online suggesting that Koomson had deployed pepper spray during the incident, allegedly to ward off her attackers.
While she has not officially commented on the full incident, her office has denied other widely circulated claims. What remains undeniable, however, is the visual evidence of her brutal assault — a stark reminder of how unsafe political participation has become for even high-profile figures.
“She Deserved It” – Some NDC Voices Argue
Shockingly, instead of a unified condemnation of the violence, some voices from within the NDC sought to justify it. In interviews and social media posts, certain party officials referenced Koomson’s controversial role in the 2020 voter registration exercise and the 2020 general elections, where she was captured on video firing a gun at a registration centre in Kasoa.
The nickname “Kasoa Vandame” emerged from those events.
“She did worse to us in 2020. Some of our boys died because of her. This is payback,” one unnamed NDC supporter said on X (formerly Twitter). Others, like NDC’s Hannah Bissiw and Sam George, suggested the incident was simply part of a vicious cycle of political retribution.
“Violence begets violence”, Bissiw said.
Sam George added, “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”
This rhetoric has sparked nationwide concern, not only about political impunity but also the dangerous normalization of violence as a political strategy.
No Official Government Statement
The silence from the state has been deafening.
Despite the scale of violence, neither the President nor the Interior Minister has issued a statement condemning the attacks or outlining steps for investigation and accountability.
Former Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has condemned the incident.
His Director of Communications for the Bawumia Campaign, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, also expressed alarm at the government’s inaction.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, he said, “There is a government that currently has the responsibility to ensure the safety of everybody. That government has not spoken.”
He warned that without a clear and immediate response, citizens would be left to feel unsafe and unprotected.
“Until they come forward and give some comfort and assurance to the people of this country, nobody is safe — including them,” Dennis Aboagye noted.
