Former Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Mavis Hawa Koomson, has justified her use of pepper spray during the violence that marred at the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun, saying it was a necessary act of self-defence.
The rerun, held on Friday, July 11, across 19 polling stations, was organised by the Electoral Commission following unresolved verification challenges in the December 2024 general elections that left the constituency without a representative in Parliament.
Though the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had initially opposed the process, it participated after the courts dismissed its injunction request.
However, the exercise was marred by violence. At the Odorkor Methodist Church polling station, Koomson was allegedly assaulted and, in the process, reportedly discharged pepper spray, prompting a temporary suspension of voting.
Later in the day, violence erupted again at the St. Peter’s polling station when suspected political thugs attacked party agents and journalists.
NPP candidate Nana Akua Afriyie and a female polling agent reportedly sustained facial injuries, while Koomson was again caught in the chaos.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the incident in an interview on Accra-based UTV on Tuesday, July 15, the former MP explained that her actions were purely defensive.
“I was at the voting centre with my security, but the police insisted I enter alone, saying unauthorised persons weren’t allowed in. I didn’t go there to cause trouble,” she said.
According to Koomson, the situation escalated when she recognised two known NDC activists from Kasoa.
“One of them shouted, ‘Where is Hawa Koomson?’ and they just pounced on me,” she recounted. “So the claims that I went there with ill intentions and carried pepper spray for that purpose are unfounded.”
She added that she had reason to believe she was being targeted. “My son was stabbed during the voter registration exercise. I know I’m a target for the NDC. When I saw thugs walking toward me with knives, I had to act to protect myself.”
Mavis Hawa Koomson defends her use of pepper spray during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun, stating it was an act of self-defence after being attacked by suspected thugs at a polling station.
