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Kennedy Agyapong

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Hon.
Kennedy Agyapong
MP
Member of Parliament
for Assin Central
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 January 2004
PresidentNana Akuffo-Addo
Preceded byNew constituency
Member of Parliament
for Assin North
In office
1 January 2001 – 6 January 2013
Preceded byFlorence Kumi
Succeeded bySamuel Ambre
Personal details
Born
Kennedy Ohene Agyapong

(1960-06-16) 16 June 1960 (age 64)[1]
Assin Dompim, Central Region, Ghana
Political partyNew Patriotic Party
Alma materFordham University
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionBusinessman
CommitteesDefense and Interior Committee (Chairperson); Judiciary Committee; Special Budget Committee

Kennedy Ohene Agyapong (born 16 June 1960) is a Ghanaian politician and businessman who represents Assin Central in parliament as a member of the New Patriotic Party.[2][3] He was first elected as a member of parliament in 2000 to the seat of Assin North.[4] He retained his seat in the year 2004[5] and 2008 parliamentary elections.[6] In 2012, he was elected in the new seat of Assin Central and was re-elected in 2016. He also retained his seat in the 2020 general elections.[7] He is currently the Chairman of the Parliament's Defense and Interior Committee.[8] [9]Agyapong contested his party's presidential primaries in 2023 and lost eventually to Mahamudu Bawumia.[10]He is known for his fiery oratory skills and persona.

Early life and education

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Ohene Agyapong was born on 16th June, 1960 to Francis Ohene Kofi Agyapong and Mary Nsiah at Assin Dompim in the Central Region of Ghana.[1] He had his secondary education at Adisadel College in the Central Region. Agyapong holds a GCE A-Level and studied at the Fordham University, New York, USA. He is a farmer and businessman, director of Assin Farms, Supercare Group of Companies and Hollywood Shopping Centre.

Politics

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Kennedy Agyapong is one of the politicians who have never lost any parlliamentary election he contested. He was first elected as MP in the year 2000.[11] Kennedy Agyapong was once a chairman of the Communication Committee of Parliament.[12]

Agyapong vowed to commit suicide if former President John Mahama's brother, Ibrahim, is not jailed by the Akufo-Addo government for some alleged corrupt activities which, according to Agyapong, have led to the state losing money. One of his claims was that Ibrahim Mahama defaulted in his taxes for over year when his brother was President of the Republic of Ghana. The allegation was investigated and Mahama eventually paid the taxes with accompanying fines. This action earned Agyapong praises from Ghanaians.[13][14]

Prior to Election 2016, Agyapong constantly attacked Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei.He alleged in one his attacks that the EC Boss has traded sex for her position. Agyapong was widely condemned.[15]

In 2018, undercover Journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, released Number 12, an investigative documentary about corruption in Ghana football and it resulted in the arrest and subsequent resignation of Ghana Football Association president, Kwasi Nyantakyi. Agyapong launched labelled the investigative journalist, a rogue and appealed that he be stopped before he begins to investigate people in their bedrooms.[16]

He launched a counter campaign against Anas, publicly broadcasting a documentary titled, Who watches the watchman, allegedly showing the corrupt side of the investigator and his boys.[17] and Reporters Without Borders [18] he stated that Anas' methods were 'unfair'. In June 2018, he broadcast images of Ahmed Hussein-Suale, an undercover agent and protégé of Anas on his Net2 TV and called for retribution against the journalist. Weeks later, Hussein-Suale was murdered at his Madina neighbourhood in Ghana's capital.[19][20]In July 2018, after describing Parliament of Ghana as useless, Agyapong was hauled before the Privileges Committee for contempt of Parliament.[21]Before the committee, he denied labeling the legislature as useless, insisting that he was misquoted. Agyapong eventually apologise and the matter was settled.[22]

Committees

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In the eighth Parliament, Agyapong is the chairperson for the Defense and Interior Committee. He is also a member of the Judiciary Committee and also, the Special Budget Committee.[1]

Presidential Bid

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In 2022, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong announced he will not seek re-election to Parliament for a seventh term. Later in May 2022, he announced his intention to contest the presidential primaries of his party, the New Patriotic Party.[23][24]In his quest to represent his party as its flagbearer for the 2024 elections, Agyapong spelt out his for the country. He stated that if he wins the party primaries and the general election, he plans to utilize his initial 100 days as President to transform the mindset of Ghanaians.[25]Agyapong, who was asked if he stands a chance considering he was in the contest against people who had PHDs and were better educated than him, shot down the relevance of education certificates. In fact, he redefined PHD to mean Patriotism, Honesty and Discipline, principles he indicated were valuable and can lead to significant changes in Ghana.[26][24]

He also touted the tourism potential of Ghana and said his presidency was going to develop tourism facilities and sites to make the country a go to destination for tourists.[24][27]On the creation of jobs for the youth, Agyapong described the youth unemployment rate as alarming but indicated per his trackrecord of providing jobs to 7,000 people via his business, he was Ghana's saviour.[28]

In November 2023, Agyapong's presidential ambition was shortlived as 61.7% of his party's delegates voted Mahamudu Bawumia to lead the party into the general election in December 2024.[29] Aggrieved from losing the primaries, Agyapong vowed not campaign for the party, but in June 2024, he joined Bawumia on a campaign tour of th Ashanti region.[30]

Personal life

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He is a Christian and married with 22 children.[31][1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Parliament of Ghana". Parliament of Ghana. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  2. ^ "I don't fear for my life, 'all die be die' – Kennedy Agyapong – MyJoyOnline.com". Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. ^ "No time for demonstration again; our gods will deal with you - Assin youth tells politicians - MyJoyOnline.com". myjoyonline. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  4. ^ "REPUBLIC OF GHANA - LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 7 DECEMBER 2000". Adam Carr's Election Archives. Adam Carr. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  5. ^ "Electoral Commission of Ghana - Parliamentary Election Results - Date of Election:- Tuesday, 7th December 2004" (PDF). Electoral Commission of Ghana. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Electoral Commission of Ghana - Parliamentary Election Results - Date of Election:- Sunday, 7th December 2008" (PDF). Electoral Commission of Ghana. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Assin Central: Kennedy Agyapong retains seat, gets sixth term as MP". Graphic Online. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Akufo-Addo must clear out NPP officials involved in 'galamsey' first, or the fight will fail - Kennedy Agyepong - MyJoyOnline.com". myjoyonline. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  9. ^ Asare, Wilberforce (11 June 2024). "Kennedy Agyapong joins Dr Bawumia's campaign". Asaase Radio. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  10. ^ Emmanuel, Kojo (13 June 2024). "2024 elections: 5 things Kennedy Agyapong said about Dr. Bawumia and the NPP". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  11. ^ Ndetei, Chris (16 August 2018). "Profile: Kennedy Agyapong biography and famous quotes". Yen Ghana news. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  12. ^ ModernGhana (27 September 2017). "Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications Commits To Policy Reforms".
  13. ^ Ayumu, Patrick. "I'll drink poison if Ibrahim Mahama isn't jailed: Agyapong". classfmonline. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  14. ^ "I will poison myself if Ibrahim Mahama is not jailed – Ken Agyapong". Ghanaweb. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Queen mothers petition parliament over Ken Agyapong - GhanaPoliticsOnline". ghanapoliticsonline. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  16. ^ "Let's stop Anas before he gets into our bedrooms - Kennedy Agyapong pleads". GhanaWeb. 27 May 2018. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  17. ^ Avenue, Committee to Protect Journalists 330 7th; York, 11th Floor New; Ny 10001 (4 June 2018). "In Ghana, investigative film crew faces death threats, harassment". cpj. Retrieved 17 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Death threats against well-known Ghanaian investigative journalist - Reporters without borders". RSF. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Football bribes investigator shot dead". BBC News. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  20. ^ "You can't silence me - Anas reacts to the killing of his partner at Madina". ghanaweb. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Kennedy Agyapong's 'useless parliament' contempt hearing set for July 3". myjoyonline. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  22. ^ "'I didn't say Parliament is useless, I said it's cheap'- Ken Agyapong". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Kennedy Agyapong declares intention to contest for NPP flagbearer position". GhanaWeb. 17 May 2022. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  24. ^ a b c "It is now Official, Kennedy Agyapong is running for President". Ghananewsonline. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  25. ^ Kabutey, Simon (26 May 2022). "Kennedy Agyapong speaks on his presidential ambition for the first time [Watch]". Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  26. ^ Nyavor, George (19 July 2022). ""Add PHD to my name": Ken Agyapong drops first presidential campaign slogan". Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  27. ^ Effah, Evans (4 June 2022). "Video: Ken Agyapong outlines 5 key areas he would focus on as President of Ghana". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  28. ^ "I employ 7,158 workers - Kennedy Agyapong touts job creation efforts". GhanaWeb. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  29. ^ "Ghana's Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia chosen as NPP presidential candidate".
  30. ^ "Ken Agyapong joins Bawumia's campaign tour to electrify atmosphere at Suame Magazine".
  31. ^ "Ghana MPs - MP Details - Agyapong Ohene Ken". ghanamps. Retrieved 27 April 2019.

19.ʌ "Kennedy Agyapong admits that he almost died last month Archived 11 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. legitloaded.com. Retrieved 21 July 2020.

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