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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has questioned why police have reacted in two different ways to the open smoking of marijuana popularly known as weed in front of them.

Hiplife artiste Kwaw Kese still has a date in court after he was arrested by the Kumasi police for smoking weed in public but according to Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, the police in Accra looked on while members of a group calling itself ‘Coalition for the Defence of Equal Citizenship, (CODEC) openly smoked weed on the streets of Accra when they embarked on a ‘One Ghana’ peace march on Wednesday March 4, 2015.

In an interview on Adom FM, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful alleged that some of the (CODEC) demonstrators smoked weed in front of police officials who supervised the demonstration but the police did not arrest such people.

“One thing that worries me is the attitude of the police. People were openly smoking weed in front of the police. If it had been Kwaw Kesse he would have been arrested.”

Kwaw Kese, popularly called Abodam was arrested at Nhyiaeso, a suburb of Kumasi on November 22, 2014, for allegedly smoking cannabis in public. He is currently out on bail on humanitarian grounds.

The Ablekuma West MP, who joined the march together with some leaders of the NPP including Deputy Minority Leader Dominic Nitiwul, Director of Communications Nana Akomea and National Youth Organiser Sammy Awuku complained bitterly about the conduct of some of the marchers.

Supported by the other members of the NPP, Mrs Ekuful complained that they were chased out of the demonstration by members of the governing National Democratic Congress.

The leadership of CODEC have denied the claim.

The group, which was purposely formed in response to alleged ethnocentric comments uttered by former finance minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo, marched through some parts of the capital to affirm that Ghanaians cannot be divided by ethnic sentiments.  

Mr Osafo-Maafo has already admitted speaking at the forum – a meeting of NPP Council of Elders in the Eastern Region - but denied making any ethnocentric comments as being purported. He has subsequently told the media in various interviews that his voice was doctored on the secretly recorded audiotape.