Polls: women demonstrate against violence

Ahead of the General elections, Kwande women under the aegis of Catholic Women Organization (CWO) have staged a peaceful demonstration calling on Kwande politicians to shun violence and avoid a situation where in 2004 their houses were destroyed, and children and husband were killed.

        The demonstration which was under t he leadership of Mrs. Judith Yende, President CWO, St. Ann’s Parish Adikpo was carried out by over 5,00 women. The women carrying placards like “Say no to violence, we  want   peace” etc. went round the whole of Adikpo town visiting the Adikpo police station, the Acting Ter-Kwande and the Acting caretaker Chairman of Kwande.

At the police Station, Mrs Yende told the DPO, Mr Moses Aiki, that they were going about on a peaceful demonstration because, they did not want a repeat of what happened in 2004. Responding, Aiki said “it is a very welcomed idea. There is no problem”

From there, they moved to the acting Ter-Kwande’s residence where they registered the same complain to him. In his response, Tyoor Yalu Agbo, the acting Ter-Kwande revealed that what they were doing was a very good thing, that as they moved about, they should go about peacefully. The acting Ter-Kwande who was in company of tyoor Usar, Engr. Tivlumun Ako Dzungwe and Tyoor Menev, Akoso Uban, noted that he had also received a petition concerning the 2011 polls and a meeting was in the offing so the women should be free to express their civil right.

The women, most aged, in their 60’s and 70’s trekked from the Acting Terkwand’s house in Mbaiwen, an out skirt of Adikpo to local government secretariat to register their complaint. After registering their complaint to the caretaker chairman, Hon. Terlumun Akputu, is reported to have told them that Kwande will not go back to opposition. He insisted that, it was only PDP that all Kwande people must vote. To the dismay of the women, he gave them some money which they reluctantly accepted.

In an interview with KSN, one of the mothers (name withheld) noted that “My son, I can not believe what the eyes and tell them such things. We are not politicians, we are Christian mothers, we were only pleading that peace should be held, so what a shame, I felt ashamed of myself”.

This is not the first time that Hon. Akputu will be offering such undemocratic comments; on several occasions, he had been saying that only PDP can be allowed in Kwande, during the Ter-Kwande’s burial he publicly said that all Kwande must vote PDP, he also said same at Ikyogen, during a thanks given mass in honour of the Governor.

Earlier, Hon. Akputu had sent the Editor-in-Chief of KSN out of his way. He alleged that the editor was publishing false information that might cause trouble. With mixed feelings, the women moved to St. Monica’s Hospital where they upsettled the bills of some patients.

In recent times, Kwande has become a political flash point where series of violent crises are noticed.