New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has publicly announced he does not fear anybody in the main opposition party after rejecting calls on him to unreservedly apologise to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for peddling falsehoods against the former Vice President.
He has rather intensified his earlier unwarranted description of Dr Bawumia as a “liar,” insisting he will not retract the remark despite heightened calls for him to do the needful to ensure calm and unity after signing of the party’s Peace Pact.
“I will not apologise. I will apologise my foot. I don’t fear anybody,” Kennedy Agyapong stated, reinforcing his posture and suggesting he would not be pressured into withdrawing his ‘Bawumia is a liar’ remark.
He described Dr Bawumia a liar after wrongly attributing to the former Vice President, a claim by the Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako also known as Chairman Wontumi, that Professor Albert Adu-Boahen did not contest NPP’s presidential primary in 1996 because he was sick.
No apology
In the midst of the backlash, a statement was reportedly issued by Kennedy Agyapong, apologising to Dr Bawumia.
However, Kwasi Kwarteng, Campaign Spokesperson of Team Ken denied the statement, insisting that Kennedy Agyapong still stands by the claims he made against Dr. Bawumia.
Many who have been following this episode are of the view that signing an apology and then repudiating it publicly, while escalating insults against both Dr Bawumia and fellow aspirants, is not bold leadership, it is a bad political conduct that risks widening cracks in the NPP at this crucial time that the party is trying to ensure unity ahead of the 31st January, 2026 presidential primary.
The former Assin Central MP’s latest defiance followed a heated post-event account of the Peace Pact ceremony during a campaign tour of the Central Region, where he said he resisted pressure and only agreed to sign after raising concerns about what he described as errors in the peace document.
Negative defiance
The most damaging element is Kennedy Agyapong’s defiant posture not to render an unqualified apology to Dr. Bawumia when the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Wontumi, has publicly admitted claims made against the late Prof. Adu Boahen.
His posture has been variously described by political watchers as foolhardy and politically unwise.
Bawumia’s calm demeanour
Kennedy Agyapong’s posture, according to political analysts, works in favour of Dr Bawumia in the court of public opinion.
“A Vice President does not need to trade insults to win credibility; the contrast between restraint and provocation is often enough. Where Agyapong’s comments read as combustible and impulsive, Dr Bawumia is better positioned to appear measured, focused, and presidential, the kind of temperament a party typically wants heading into a high-stakes national election cycle,” a political watcher Emmanuel Obeng stated on his Facebook timeline.
Attack on other aspirants
Kennedy Agyapong claimed he was the only candidate who spotted “glaring mistakes” in the pact, mocking the other presidential aspirants for allegedly failing to scrutinise the text before endorsing it.
“Even PhD holders couldn’t see the mistakes,” he said, claiming that signing documents without careful review is dangerous and comparable to “signing your own death warrant.”
According to Kennedy Agyapong, he “stood his ground” until his objections were acknowledged, portraying his stance as proof he would not compromise his outspoken style for political convenience as the party heads into a fierce primary contest.
His conduct, as captured in a sequence of events, raises serious questions about consistency, judgment, and the discipline expected of a leading contender in a party that is publicly pleading for unity.
However, two of the contestants, Ing Kwabena Agyei Agyepong and Dr Bryan Acheampong, have debunked the ‘error’ claims.
They insisted there was nothing wrong with the document and that Kennedy Agyapong was only engaged in propaganda.
By Kyei Boateng
