Ernest Frimpong, the parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Amenfi East, has been arrested by the Tarkwa Police Command located in the Western Region.
This comes after Mr. Frimpong was shown encouraging miners to confront soldiers and police who extort money from them in a widely shared video.
Previously, Mr. Frimpong had denied claims made against him and Regional Minister Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, stating that they had supported illicit mining and incited miners to oppose military forces.
He said that the two hours he spent with artisanal small-scale miners had pulled him out of context.
Mr. Frimpong expounded in a statement dated Saturday, June 8, 2024, that the Regional Minister had underscored the significance of conscientious mining methods and cautioned against mining in areas that are forbidden, like forest reserves and waterways.
He says he also asked miners to report any incidents of harassment and extortion by unauthorised people posing as law enforcement.
However, the NPP PC has been detained, as Frederick Korankye, the Municipal Chief Executive of Wassa Amenfi East, confirmed to Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Wednesday.
“I can confirm that Mr. Ernest Frimpong is currently [in] police custody at Tarkwa Regional Police Command. In fact, the regional police command placed a call on him on Monday morning, but because he was not within the municipality, he had to travel from where he was in Kumasi.”
“So yesterday evening he reported himself, and then today, as I speak to you now about 30 minutes ago, he has finished writing his statement and he is seeking bail. So I can confirm to you that he is at the regional police command in Tarkwa,” he stated.