Paul Afoko, the suspended chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said that he refused to appear before the Disciplinary Committee of the party for fear of his life.
According to the embattled chairman of the party, he had picked signals that the Invisible Forces of the party which he described as “thugs,” had been marshaled to come to the party headquarters annex to attack him.
Interestingly, Mr. Afoko, who is challenging his suspension as the party chairman at an Accra Human Rights Court, could not mention any persons responsible for the said planned attack on him.
He argued that he had through his lawyers rather told the committee that if it badly required his presence, then the meeting had to be held at a location where he would be safer.
In the view of Mr. Afoko, who was under cross-exanimation by Godfred Yeboah Dame, counsel for the NPP, the meeting was to be held at a hotel at his (Afoko’s) expense.
The NPP’s lawyer disagreed, stressing that the supposed attack on Mr. Afoko was not true, indicating that it was part of the plaintiff’s calculated efforts to frustrate the proceedings of the Disciplinary Committee.
In a conflicting statement, Mr. Afoko admitted that he never appeared before the committee that recommended his suspension.
He maintained that he relied on briefings by his lawyers and correspondence from the proceedings of the committee.
He also contended that the October 2, 2015 letter he received from the committee inviting him to appear on October 6 was not the first letter.
Earlier, the court, presided over by Justice Anthony Yeboah, had adopted the plaintiff’s witness statements filed on March 22.
Mr. Afoko was represented by Lawyer Osafo Boabeng. Sitting continues on May 12, 2016.
The embattled chairman dragged the party to court last year after he was suspended indefinitely in October.
The party’s Disciplinary Committee had recommended the suspension following a petition filed by two members of the party.
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