Smear Plot Against NDC Organizer Backfires, Causing Uneasiness for Opiah Mensah

—DCE Clears The Air Over the Matter Uneasiness has reportedly gripped Mr. Opiah Mensah, popularly known as O.P, and his followers following the apparent collapse of an alleged attempt to link the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Wassa East Constituency Organiser, Mr. Kwaku Agyapong, to a recent clash involving illegal miners in the Subri Forest Reserve at Nsadweso in the Western Region. Viral media reports had alleged that tension had erupted in Wassa East after an alleged clash between the constituency organiser and security personnel linked to the Member of Parliament (MP) over illegal mining (galamsey) activities in the forest reserve. The reports further claimed that armed thugs and illegal miners, allegedly working for Mr. Agyapong, were involved in a violent confrontation with party security operatives led by Mr. Opiah Mensah. According to those reports, the assailants were allegedly armed with guns, knives, and machetes, and that gunshots were fired during the confrontation, resulting in three illegal miners sustaining gunshot wounds. The injured miners reportedly survived the incident. However, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Wassa East District Assembly, Mr. Alhassan Ibrahim, has strongly denied the allegations linking Mr. Kwaku Agyapong to the incident. The DCE also dismissed claims that the NDC constituency organiser owns or operates any illegal mining site within the Subri Forest Reserve. He further refuted allegations that the incident had caused serious injuries to three people, stressing that nobody was injured and the case was under police investigation. Mr. Ibrahim clarified that Mr. Agyapong was not present at the site at the time the clash occurred on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, contrary to claims circulating on social media. Speaking as Chairman of the Wassa East District Security Council (DISEC), the DCE stated that the incident did not generate the level of tension in the district as widely reported online. He cautioned those making the allegations to desist from dragging the constituency organiser’s name into the matter. According to him, the accusations against Mr. Agyapong were a calculated attempt to defame his character and create the false impression that NDC leadership in the constituency was shielding illegal mining activities, contrary to the government’s firm stance against galamsey. The DCE stressed that the illegal miners involved were not operating on behalf of Mr. Agyapong, describing the claims as mischievous and misleading. He further explained that upon contacting the constituency organiser after the reports surfaced, Mr. Agyapong indicated that he had visited the site only once in his life and was not present during the incident. Quoting Mr. Agyapong, the DCE said: “I was not present at the site at the time of the incident.” Mr. Ibrahim also revealed that the illegal mining site in question had been operating since the era of the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, long before the NDC assumed power in 2024. “When we came into office, these illegal mining activities were already ongoing, and I have been working tirelessly with the National security operatives to stop them,” the DCE noted. He categorically stated that any claim suggesting Mr. Agyapong owns or is linked to the illegal mining site at the Subri Forest Reserve in Nsadweso is false. The DCE reiterated the NDC government’s commitment to fighting illegal mining, emphasizing that President John Dramani Mahama has consistently opposed galamsey, especially in forest reserves and water bodies. He, however, lamented the persistent challenge security agencies face, explaining that illegal miners often return to sites once security personnel withdraw. Mr. Ibrahim concluded by urging the public to disregard the misleading reports suggesting that tensions had erupted in Wassa East due to clashes involving the NDC constituency organiser, describing such publications as inaccurate and irresponsible. However, the observers called on the leadership of the NDC to immediately call Mr Opiah Mensah and his associates to order since their actions and inactions were destroying the image of the NDC in the constituency.