General News of Saturday, 24 November 2012
Source: DAYBREAK
Two Makola Market Queens with National Democratic Congress fell heavily during a stampede for NDC T-shirts last week, when Lordina Mahama took her campaign through the principal streets of Accra.
The rally carried no message except ‘Tchoo Boi’ songs and Thank You messages that did not indicate why Lordina was thanking Makola Market traders and others along the Rawlings Park stretch. The group never stopped to talk to traders leaders or check their pulse and listen to complaints on the Markets.
Conspicuously missing among the NDC kingpins was Nii Lante Vanderpuye, who is a Castle Aide and NDC Ga Central top politician.
In toe, however, was Sherry Ayittey, a darling of December 31st Women Movement activists on the Market and who received quite rousing welcome.
One of them, Mrs. Gyan, ended up collapsing when she choked during the stampede after the youthful crowd stampeded her for T-shirts that she had smothered under her bulky frame. Cited as greedy by the youth, most of them female traders at Tudu and along the Rawlings, they put pressure on her to release the T-shirts.
Mrs. Gyan was rushed to a nearby medical facility where she recovered hours later. According to youth and female traders who spoke with DAYBREAK, she is in the bad books of the whole Makola community because she has hijacked a toilet facility whose proceeds are meant for the benefit and welfare of the traders in Makola Market.
She has not accounted to anybody since the NDC took over and the AMA annexed the toilet which other Queens had been accused of having hijacked years back in the previous administration.
The marauding youth failed to heed an appeal by another Makola Queen, Margaret, who also landed on the floor but managed to to take the heat and jump back onto her feet before the worst happened.
Earlier, activists of the NDC had come round to distribute white T-shirts. This newer La Coste edition was, however, quite an attraction that it drew along most traders, who for want of customers, were bored as to follow the crowd, resulting in stampede in which the Queens fell, with one of them being hospitalized and surging crowd looting the T-shirts.