A member of Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kennedy Agyapong, has left the country in spite of the weight of criticism and suspicion that he allegedly knew of the murder of an undercover reporter.
The reporter, Ahmed Hussein-Suale was gunned down in an Accra neighbourhood on Wednesday night.
According to report, his assailants said to be two and riding on a motorbike, followed him as he was driving home around 10:00 p.m. and he was shot three times in Madina, a neighborhood of the nation’s capital.
The incident has ignited widespread outrage among journalists and media rights advocates across the world, with the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists demanding a swift and holistic enquiry from Ghanaian government.
Hussein-Suale was an associate of prominent Ghanaian investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who runs the Tiger Eye Private Investigations outfit in the country.
However, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo condemned the killing and called on the police to quickly uncover the circumstances that led to it.
He also condoled with the family of Mr. Hussein-Suale and Tiger Eye.
Meanwhile, Mr. Agyapong, a lawmaker representing the country’s Assin Central at the parliament, became an instant suspect in the murder of the undercover reporter, whose latest work exposed corruption in Ghanaian sports industry.
Mr Agyapong was however seen departing with preparation to fly out of Ghana on Thursday, apparently after being questioned by the police over the video clip, which was shared by Mr. Anas on Thursday morning.
But he strongly denied that he was leaving the country because he has been identified as a suspect, stating that the trip was planned well before the murder Wednesday night.
He also said he only called for Mr. Hussein-Suale to be beaten after employees at NET2 reported sighting him in the station’s premises.
He said he made the threats against Mr. Hussein-Suale because he believed the slain reporter, whom he reportedly helped pay school fees in 2012, could plant recording devices in offices of NET2, and he could not have plotted his killing because he has never written nor done any undercover work against him.
The politician also accused Mr Anas and his lawyer of trying to muddle police investigation by amplifying him as the prime suspect, even though he believes Mr. Anas was the suspect.
He said Mr. Hussein-Suale fell out with Mr Anas before his death, and the famed investigator might have ordered his hit to suppress possible secrets.
Meanwhile Mr. Anas said “The politician is known to be a liar.
“I do not think that anybody should take anything he says seriously.”
He added that “On the day my reporter died I was sitting with him, and he left me for an assignment”.
Mr. Anas said he has not specifically accused Mr. Agyapong or anyone else as being responsible for the murder, and would rather let the police conduct a thorough investigation.
Mr. Hussein-Suale is expected to be buried Friday in accordance with Islamic rites.
