Simon Osei-Mensah, the former Ashanti Regional Minister has stated there is no law backing the flogging of defiant traders.
Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, Mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), has issued a stern warning to traders selling on pavements in the region.
According to him, any trader found selling on pavements in the central business district will be flogged mercilessly by authorities of the KMA.
Traders selling on pavements have been given a two-week ultimatum to move from these places.
Explaining his new choice of enforcement, the Mayor indicated that conventional enforcement measures, such as confiscating goods and making arrests, have proven ineffective, necessitating a more direct approach.
The mayor issued this warning during a press conference on Monday, April 14, 2025, where he outlined plans for a decongestion exercise aimed at clearing traders from pavements and roadsides.
He stated, “I have my own military-democratic style which I will be implementing. When we say leave the space, and you don’t leave the space, and I get there with my boys, we will beat you.”
“In the middle of Adum, if I’m alone, you will be lucky, but if I’m with my ten boys, in their pick-up with their whips, trust me, we will beat you. If you don’t want to experience that kind of situation, do what is right and lawful.”
Emphasizing the need to maintain order in Kumasi, which he referred to as “Otumfuo’s city” and the “garden city of West Africa”, Mayor Boadi asserted his readiness to take decisive action against resistance.
The mayor added, “We have to preserve it. If you want the job to be difficult for me, I will let your body feel the difficulty you are giving to me”.
The mayor clarified that he does not anticipate criticism for enforcing these measures and urged traders to adhere to the regulations voluntarily to avoid confrontation.
Reacting to the comments made by the Kumasi mayor, on CITI FM Osei-Mensah stated, “There’s no law supporting it,”
The former regional minister urged the Kumasi Mayor to consider more humane alternatives to address the issue of street trading and signalled his clear disapproval of the flogging of traders.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi has defended his remarks about flogging traders selling on the pavement.
Speaking on CITI FM the Kumasi Mayor stated, “I don’t believe in using the police for decongestion because I will spend so much on them, and after that, we will get back to the status quo,” he said.
“Those in the middle of the road, some of them are cooking, selling all manner of food, it’s not attractive, I want to deal with it head-on. Kumasi is engulfed with so much filth and I want to deal with it head-on”, he added.
