EDUMADZE ASSAULTS GRAPHIC REPORTER (PAGE 17)

Story: Shirley Asiedu-Addo, Cape Coast

THE former Central Regional Minister and Member of Parliament for the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Constituency, Mr Isaac Edumadze, went berserk after losing the NPP primary on Sunday and assaulted the Graphic’s Central Regional correspondent, Mr Joe Okyere.
Mr Edumadze, who has been in the news several times for his aggressive nature and bullying tactics, together with his macho men, held two reporters — Mr Philip Baidoo, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) correspondent for the Central Region, and Mr Okyere — in his residence at Ajumako for over an hour, most of which time he assaulted Mr Okyere.
Mr Okyere was in a vehicle with Mr Baidoo when Mr Baidoo decided to go to the defeated MP’s house to say hello to him as the former Central Regional minister.
According to Mr Baidoo, when they got to the house, Mr Edumadze was not around and so they decided to leave.
He said as they were leaving, they saw Mr Edumadze entering his compound and so he got down from his car to say hello.
He said after talking with Edumadze for a while, he told him that he was with Mr Okyere.
He said all this while Mr Okyere was in the car, which was parked in the compound.
He said immediately he heard that Mr Okyere was in the car, Mr Edumadze went haywire, opened it, dragged Mr Okyere out of it and started assaulting him, accusing him of writing false stories about him (Edumadze), which, he said, contributed to his losing the election.
He said Mr Okyere managed to free himself from the furious Edumadze but he ordered his macho men, who were then in the yard, to lock the gate. Mr Edumadze at this point asked the macho men to strip Mr Okyere naked, drag him to one of the rooms and beat him to death.
Mr Baidoo said he had to intervene by holding Mr Edumadze at bay, to stop him from persistently assaulting Mr Okyere.
He said at a point the two of them fell to the ground but he managed to pin Mr Edumadze down, maintaining that he was the one who had brought Mr Okyere to the compound and so if Edumadze wanted to kill Mr Okyere he should kill him (Mr Baidoo) first.
According to Mr Baidoo, Mr Edumadze then said Mr Okyere was an intruder and so was going to report him and Baidoo to the police.
The “macho men then bundled Mr Okyere into Edumadze’s car to the police station, where Mr Baidoo, Mr Okyere and another person, one of Edumadze’s boys, all made statements.
Mr Okyere, who had parts of his body swollen, told this reporter at his residence at Elmina yesterday morning that while in Edumadze’s car, Edumadze kept hitting his chest with his elbow.
The police are investigating the case.
Mr Ekow Arthur Baiden of the Town and Country Planning Department polled 67 votes against Edumadze’s 45 votes at the primary held on Sunday at Ajumako Ochiso.
Daily Graphic made several efforts to get in touch with Mr Edumadze for his version of the story on his telephone but he did not pick his phone.