George Boateng, the man who wanted to contest President John Mahama for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential slot, is in the grips of the police.
George Boateng, who has gained notoriety in criticising the president, passed the night at the Ayi Mensah police station on the Accra-Aburi road after his arrest on alleged sanitation offence.
George’s quest to lead the NDC was thwarted after he was prevented by General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, from purchasing nomination forms to join the contest last year because he (Asiedu Nketia) said he (George Boateng) was not mentally stable. But that has turned out to be false since the NDC activist has no psychiatry record.
But sources said George, who has been very critical of the president and his administration when he appears on radio programmes, was arrested at his Oyarifa home at about 10:15 am yesterday by the police.
According to the sources, he was at home when a team from the La Nkwantanan Assembly, led by one police chief inspector, stormed his rented apartment to arrest him.
Asked what their mission was, the police officer was said to have shown George, who once dared President Mahama to go to the Antoa river deity if he had never collected bribe, a warrant issued for his arrest by the Madina magistrate court.
Momentarily, George, a local NDC executive, reportedly became dumbfounded.
Obviously confused, he therefore sought to know from the team his crime, and they reportedly explained that he (George) failed to attend court when he was summoned to appear before the court on June 8, 2016 in relation to a sanitation issue, an allegation he flatly denied.
He claimed that nobody had served him a summons letter to warrant an appearance in court.
Instead, what he was said to have recalled was the fact that about two months or so ago, he was home when sanitation officers visited the house and saw some refuse in the house.
When he was asked who had left the refuse uncollected, George was said to have declined knowledge since it was not in front of his apartment; and that ended the discussion.
According to the source, it therefore came as a surprise to George when the police stormed the house yesterday with a warrant to arrest him.
He could not but follow the police to the Ayi Mensah police station where he was kept overnight and expected to be taken to court today.
When DAILY GUIDE contacted the police at Ayi Mensah, they admitted that George Boateng was indeed in their custody but could not respond to queries because they did not effect his arrest and that he was only brought there for safekeeping.
They therefore asked the paper to speak to one Chief Inspector Ahialorpkor, the station officer at the Mountain View police post, who also admitted that they arrested the NDC man.
“It is a warrant of arrest issued by the Madina magistrate court for his arrest,” he said.
Asked what his offence was, the policeman indicated: “That is an issue of environmental health and a warrant to be executed by the police.”
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