This development showed Cheddar’s performance as a notable achievement for smaller parties in an election dominated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Other smaller party candidates recorded the following results:

• Daniel Augustus Lartey Jnr: 16,673 votes (0.15%)
• Christian Andrews: 16,461 votes (0.15%)
• Kofi Akpaloo: 5,219 votes (0.09%)
• Mohammed Frimpong: 4,413 votes (0.04%)
• Nana Akosua Frimpomaa: 23,397 votes (0.21%)
• Hassan Ayariga: 17,461 votes (0.16%)
• Kofi Koranteng: 3,320 votes (0.03%)
• George Twum Barimah-Adu: 3,091 votes (0.02%)
• Alan Kyerematen: 31,202 votes (0.28%)

These candidates collectively made their presence felt in a race where former President John Dramani Mahama of the NDC emerged as the president-elect with 6,328,397 votes, representing 56.55% of the total valid votes.

He was followed by NPP candidate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who garnered 4,657,304 votes (41.61%).

Cheddar’s The New Force campaign, which focused on economic empowerment, innovation, and social transformation, resonated with a segment of the electorate, particularly young people, positioning him as a rising figure in Ghanaian politics.

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”Cheddar” as he is affectionately, has anchored his campaign on radical ideas ostensibly to win the trust of electorates ahead of Saturday’s polls.

In what was the latest of his firebrand approach, Mr. Bediako questioned the wisdom in dedicating hours of one’s productive hours to watch other people make money.

”I think that first of all, if you spend two hours, watching football almost every two days, in a year, you would have spent 1000 hours of your time.”

”Or 500 hours of your time, watching football that someone is getting paid $500,000 a week but you watch them for free and pay your hours into it,” he told state broadcaster, GTV on Tuesday.

Mr Bediako, who was a guest on the state broadcaster’s ”Presidential Encounters”, proposed what he believed to be a more profitable way of channelling Ghanaians interest in football.

”I don’t think that’s a good investment because your time is your most important asset and you have to use it sensibly.

What I would do for sports, which I think we are lacking, that will stop people from just watching and not being a part of the industry, is to start to infuse sports into our educational system by partnering with people who have specialized in that because we Ghanaians we become footballers by vision, not by skills or training and they need to be trained and coached.”

Mr. Bediako’s calculations may be a few hundred thousands more than the average age in Europe’s most watched leagues.

The Premier League’s highest earner, Kevin Debruyne earns £400,000 a week while the average wage is approximately £94,000.

Italy’s Serie A has a considerably lower average wage; €44,000, while the league’s highest earner, Dusan Vlahovic earns €426,000 weekly although the amount reportedly includes deferred wages.

Per BeinSports, the highest-paid player in Spain, Robert Lewandowski earns the equivalent of $640,000 weekly while the average wage is $79,800.

Although the substance of Mr Bediako’s comments lies in how much the Ghanaian football fan loses by watching, others make money.

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The Belgian national, in January 2024, detailed the alleged injustice she endured during her arrest, detention, and subsequent repatriation.

Ms. Abbiusi said she suffered inhumane treatment at the hands of both immigration and NIB officers.

Ruling on the matter on Friday, November 22, 2024, the court held that Ghana had violated Shalimar Abbiusi’s rights. This was through what the court described as wrongful arrest, re-arrest, and her illegal deportation in December 2023, resulting in significant damage to her personal and professional reputation.

According to the court, the action against the Belgian woman contravened Article 6 of the Liberty of People, despite all charges against her being dropped by the State Prosecutor.

The court’s decision ordered compensation from the Ghanaian government, marking a significant victory for justice and accountability.

The Madina legislator, Francis-Xavier Sosu, who represented Ms. Abbiusi alongside Attorney Belinda Narkey Quaynor, expressed his gratitude for the court’s decision.

“We feel vindicated that the ECOWAS Court has protected the rights of Shalimar,” Mr. Sosu remarked.

In a statement, the New Force also reaffirmed its dedication to ensuring fairness and justice across African nations. The movement also urged the government to “respect human rights and uphold the rule of law, as guaranteed by our Constitution.”

“The actions against Ms. Abbiusi exemplify a broader issue of political persecution that threatens the foundations of democracy in Ghana,” the New Force declared.

They further called on civil society organizations, human rights advocates, and the international community to condemn such violations and support efforts to reform governmental institutions.

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Read the full statement below:

Speaking to residents of Chorkor in the Accra metropolis, Bukom Banku urged his supporters to vote for Cheddar in the upcoming elections.

He stated that he has a close friendship with Cheddar, for which he asked his followers to trust his judgment and rally behind the New Force.

However, he also acknowledged that individuals who have pledged allegiance to other parties have the freedom to vote according to their preferences.

This unexpected move has shocked Ghanaians, given Bukom Banku’s long-standing support for the NDC and its flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama.

Known as a dedicated advocate for the NDC, Bukom Banku has previously described Mahama as a father figure in politics and has actively campaigned for him in past elections.

His endorsement of Cheddar’s New Force has left many speculating on the reasons behind his change of heart and if it is motivated by money.

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He says prioritizing manufacturing in the country will reduce the quest of traders to travel to countries like China, America or Turkey to bring in goods.

Speaking in an interview on Luv Fm as part of his listening tour in the Ashanti region, Mr Bediako observed the need to make every region of the country economically active by harnessing the requisite human and natural resources to drive prosperity.

“Out of 16 regions that we have in this country, it’s only one that is active and it’s just Accra. The rest is non-active and supposedly the rest are the ones with the resources; they have the mineral resources; they have the human resources and it’s not being used. But Accra that is supposed to be the active one doesn’t have one find of mineral, there is no gold, there is no bauxite, there is no mining, there is nothing.”

This is informing his quest to establish factories in each region, emphasizing that his listening tour has a component of research to ascertain the needs, behaviour and endowments of people and places.

“Before we even took a step, we studied all the minerals in the country and we realized that we have attributable reserves of over 4.7trillion untouched. We are not broke, we’re very rich but we just have bad leaders who are only interested in their pockets,” said Mr. Bediako.

The New Force leader described Ashanti region as being resourceful in natural resources but lacking plants to create jobs.

“The resources are here in the Ashanti region… all of these places need plants, energy; you need power stations to at least give industrial tariffs,” he said.

According to Cheddar, he cannot sit aloof without taking action to redirect the path of Ghana.

“I have held leadership positions right from school, so I have experience. I know how to make money and create wealth. I have what it takes to be president… I respect and value people. I will not steal from them or disrespect them,” he said.

In a statement issued on Saturday, February 17, the movement clarified that any reports suggesting Cheddar’s affiliation with the NDC are false and should be disregarded.

The statement emphasized that New Force has no intentions of aligning with any organisation or political party to achieve its objectives.

However, the movement expressed concern about alleged attempts by the government or its representatives to undermine Cheddar’s leadership.

“It has come to the attention of the New Force Team that certain online news outlets are publishing news items purporting that Nana Kwame Bediako, leader of The New Force has joined or intends to join NDC flagbearer John Dramani Mahama.”

“The news items make it appear as though Nana Kwame Bediako finds it expedient to join another political party organisation because several efforts and plans of The New Force have so far been frustrated by the current government administration,” an excerpt of the statement said.

Below is the full statement

Unless there was some political advantage to be gained, I was surprised that the man behind the New Force mask unmasked himself so soon.

What some of us had been told was that it was not a political movement, as in partisan politics, but a pressure group.

At this stage of our development, Ghanaians don’t need a political saviour, because there will never be one: see how “Junior Jesus” – the most loved of all our saviours and redeemers – failed us so badly! 

Has the New Force been deflated? Let me unmask myself: after the revelation that its Spokesperson, the Belgian lady, Shalimar Abbiusi, obtained her residence permit under false pretences, I lost all faith in the genuineness of the group.

Perhaps this Cheddar man had no means of knowing the circumstances under which she obtained her travel documents, but as the leader of a moralist movement promising moral change I thought the last thing to do was to mass a crowd on the court premises to protest her arrest.

Again, I ask: has the ego of the New Force been punctured?  The most shocking piece of news for me this decade is the charge of “plagiarism and intellectual theft” levelled against Kenyan Law Professor Prof. Patrick Loch Otieno (P.L.O.) Lumumba, one of the loudest anti-graft crusaders I ever had the privilege to listen to.

Plagiarism 

A Kenyan constitutional human rights lawyer, Wachira Maina, has successfully sued P.L.O. for plagiarising an article he wrote, which was published in an East African newspaper.

Maina says Lumumba wrote an essay titled, ‘From Jurisprudence to Poliprudence: the Kenyan Presidential Election Petition 2013’, and that nearly 5,000 words of the 10,000-word essay were lifted from an article he wrote, published on April 20, last year.

Maina wants the court to declare that Lumumba’s conduct undermined values and principles of public service, hence bar him from holding public office.

I had prayed that we would wake up the next morning to news that the Professor had rubbished the story.

But no.

Hours later, the worst happened.

News filtered in later confirmed that “Lumumba is expected to write by himself or through a counsel, a suitable letter of correction … directing the Law Society of Kenya, the Attorney-General, the Kenya School of Law, Law Africa Publishing (K) Ltd to immediately recall and delete” the article from the journal.

The Professor’s case is relevant to us in Ghana not only because of his sudden rise to fame here from his brilliantly and passionately delivered lectures but also because he was one of the speakers listed for the Convention planned by the New Force Movement but which was aborted at the eleventh hour by government. 

My take on the two incidents involving persons associated with the New Force Movement: “He who comes to equity must come with clean hands”.

Remember that from a moral high ground, the New Force had written to condemn the politician who was thought to have claimed to be man in the mask.

They described his action as “reprehensible and indicative of a lack of credibility, which undermines his ability to lead a new political vision.”

Morality

For me, the two incidents are morality issues and I bring them up only to juxtapose them against the action by Germany’s Ambassador to Zambia, Anne Wagner-Mitchell who reportedly returned a gift box she received from the boss of an unnamed Zambian company.

The gift box contained electronic gadgets, including a power bank, a flash drive and a thermos flask. 

She returned the gift box and wrote on her X-page that “as a public official, I’m compelled to avoid even the appearance of gaining any personal advantage or to be susceptible to influence with regard to official duties. Return to sender.”

To the CEO, the Ambassador made a plea: “Please, do not send me any gift in the future. I am sure the money spent on these gifts would be highly appreciated as a donation to a charity caring for the most vulnerable and poor of Zambia’s society.” 

These are words I expected to read from President Mahama when the Burkinabe contractor offered him a $100,000 Ford Pathfinder, and from Rawlings when Abacha offered him those millions of dollars. 

Having said all of the above, methinks Ghana government’s action to cancel the Convention planned by the New Force was needless.

Such ill-advised actions create unintended heroes.

Why, for instance, should a simple question by a journalist at a press conference in the heady days of the Rawlings military rule send the journalist to prison without trial? How was Kume Preko ever going to be a platform for a forcible change of government? 

Akufo-Addo knows the answer to the last question; that is why it is difficult to fathom an explanation for the last-minute cancellation of last week’s ‘Convention’ called by the New Force. 

GIS has explained the decision to repatriate the Belgian nation was based on the revocation of her residence permit by the Comptroller-General, in accordance with Section 20 (2)(a) of the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573.

In a statement, the Service said that Ms. Abbuisi obtained a student permit through fraudulent misrepresentation.

“Per the law, Ms Shalimar Abbiusi could not remain in Ghana and the Comptroller-General ordered her removal from the country” the statement said.

In light of this, she was repatriated on December 19, 2023, aboard Air Brussels Flight No. SN 319, back to her home country.

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Read the statement below:

The Immigration Service says she is due for repatriation later today.

Shalimar Abuissi who was first seen in the group’s campaign video, was being charged with allegedly obtaining a student residency permit by false declaration.

Earlier today, the State Prosecutor dropped all charges against her.

The court also directed that the National Investigations Bureau release Ms. Abuissi’s iPhone 13 Pro that was seized during her arrest since nothing incriminating was found upon thorough check.

However, Ms. Abuissi was rearrested outside the court premises by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

This led to an eruption of chaos between her legal representatives and the Immigration officers who had come to whisk her away.

According to the Immigration Service, her continuous stay in Ghana is illegal, therefore, she is to be deported later today.

Ms. Abbiusi’s recent legal battles, per the New Forces’ December 7 press release, raises serious concerns about power abuse, persecution of perceived political opponents, and multiple human rights violations.

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