The National Chairman of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo has said he is a man of peace and has no history of violence, adding that the party has no intentions of killing women or kidnapping and insulting people as part of its strategies to win the 2020 polls.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo has been under intense condemnation by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and civil society groups such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) following the leakage of an audiotape which captures a male voice purported to be that of the NDC National Chairman urging communicators of the party “to wage a relentless war” against the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Jean Mensa; “insult” the Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev Prof Emmanuel Asante and use “tactical” means to put fear in some Ghanaians by letting them know that “their lives are in danger” in the lead-up to the 2020 polls.

Though the National Communication Officer of the NDC, Mr Sammy Gyamfi has described the tape as “fake” and “doctored” in an interview with Class91.3FM as well as on various other radio stations, his deputy, Mr Kwaku Boahen, has come out to confirm that the voice, indeed, is that of Mr Ofosu-Ampofo.

Mr Boahen told Accra-based NEAT FM that he and Mr Gyamfi, as well as some other party communicators, were in a meeting with Mr Ofosu-Ampofo when the NDC Chairman made the comments.

The Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service has invited Mr Ofosu-Ampofo for questioning over the matter.

Speaking to party supporters after a victory health walk in Accra, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the NPP “cannot sleep” because they know the NDC has “a Chairman who is a peaceful person, a Chairman who is reconciling his party and bringing his party together in unity to win 2020”.

“Less than three months ago”, he told the crowd of party supporters, “You elected me as the Chairman of the party. Now the NPP has organised a press conference asking me to resign. I want to assure you that I am a man of peace, and my hands are clean. I have been in politics for many years, there’s no evidence I have won my victory through violence or spoken against anybody. I want to remain focused, the NDC wants to remain focused. We will win the election freely, fairly and clearly.

“The NDC believes in the rule of law and we are Democrats. … I want to assure all Ghanaians that the NDC will not kill women to win power, the NDC will not kidnap people to win power, the NDC will not insult to win the power, the NDC will bring a message of hope to Ghanaians”, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo noted.

On his invitation by the CID, the NDC Chairman said: “I want to assure you that the NDC Chairman has not run away from anybody. When we finish thanking God on Sunday, on Monday, our lawyers have informed the CID that the National Chairman of the NDC will come to the CID headquarters to answer any questions that they want. By eight O’clock, we are there and, so, I want to assure them that the peaceful Chairman, the peaceful party will respond to their call even though they first invited us through WhatsApp”.