Assemblyman drowns while crossing river to campaign for re-election

• Posted on December 6, 2023December 6, 2023
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

A 34-year-old assemblyman, Manasseh Addison Sackey, popularly known as Teacher Obour, who was on his way to campaign for re-election, drowned four years after his predecessor suffered the same fate.

Teacher Obour, a teacher at Teberebie M/A Junior High School, was seeking re-election in the Teberebie electoral area in Prestea, Western Region.

However, he reportedly drowned during a boat capsize in a river connecting Aklika on Monday, December 4, while being ferried along with five other passengers to another community, which is part of his electoral area across the river.

Citinewsroom.com reports that four years ago, Manasseh’s competitor, a former assemblyman, also suffered the same fate two weeks before the elections.

A journalist with Prestea FM, Nana Esi Brew Monney, told the news outlet that Manasseh’s campaign team members tried to restrain him from going to campaign on the fateful day, but he insisted, saying it was just a short distance. “His campaign crew told him not to go, but he insisted it was just a stone’s throw, and he could return immediately. He was wearing Wellington boots with five others on board. Just in the middle of the river, the canoe capsized. Three others came back to report that Manasseh and the other gentleman had drowned. A search team was sent, only for them to find the lifeless body of Manasseh Addison Sackey. This happened around 2:00 pm, and the body was found around 6:00 pm,” she is quoted as having narrated.

“The chief of the area has declined to speak to us, and we are yet to hear from the municipal chief executive too. Some assembly members came to get firsthand information,” Nana Esi Brew Monney added. Manasseh’s corpse has been deposited at the Tarkwa municipal mortuary, while his family was yet to be informed about his demise.