Events last week within the circles of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have got me reflecting on an Akan proverb involving the magpie.

The magpie is a black-and-white bird with a sharp beak and a long tail. Its ability to muddy streams, for various reasons, is prominent in Akan folklore and captured in a profound proverb that aptly illustrates hypocrisy, dishonesty, and double standards.

The proverb, “anoma kokone one, oko ensuo atifi ko ho no no, na wa ba efie abe bisa se whan na ahono ensu no,” literally translates as: “the magpie goes upstream to muddy the stream, and flies (innocently) downstream to ask who muddied the water.”

This popular proverb aptly describes hypocrisy and dishonesty, which is exactly what has been happening in the camp of the NPP regarding the party’s 2028 flagbearership contest.

Last weekend, a viral video of Bryan Acheampong emerged, in which he accused former Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of being responsible for the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 election. According to Acheampong, the NPP lost votes and seats in the Upper East and surrounding regions because of the Mamprusi–Kusasi conflict, claiming that since Dr Bawumia is Mamprusi, the Kusasis did not vote for the NPP.

His comments were widely deemed tribalistic and divisive and, unsurprisingly, attracted massive condemnation. For a party seeking to unite its ranks, stakeholders faulted Acheampong for his unprovoked and unwarranted attacks on the former Vice-President.

As the criticism intensified, with his image and campaign on the line, Bryan issued a statement calling for unity in the party.

In a statement titled “A Call to Unity and Discipline in Our Internal Contest,” he said the NPP contest should be a “contest of ideas, of leadership, and of vision of power in focus,” adding that it must be “treated with the respect it deserves.”

He also appealed to his supporters to avoid the use of “intemperate language” and “personal attacks,” stressing that the NPP’s strength has always been built on “discipline, dignity, and unity,” not division.

Acheampong’s statement calling for respect and unity, and denouncing personal attacks, came only moments after his widely condemned tribal remarks against Bawumia.

Interestingly, just a few days after issuing his call for unity, another video of Acheampong emerged, in which he once again launched personal attacks on Bawumia. In the presence of party members he invited to his hotel, Acheampong repeatedly turned Bawumia into his punching bag, making divisive claims against him. Using Bawumia’s tribal, religious, and Zongo affiliations, he described him as a weak candidate responsible for the NPP’s defeat. His latest claim was that Bawumia failed to win a single constituency in several regions — a claim critics exposed as false, since past NPP candidates including Kufuor and Akufo-Addo also failed to win constituencies in some regions during earlier elections.

Acheampong’s renewed attacks, just like his earlier Mamprusi remarks, have angered many within the party and triggered reciprocal responses. Some have even reminded him of his controversial attempt to purchase state hotels, which the then-opposition NDC widely discussed as an act of state capture — a controversy they argue also affected the NPP at the polls.

The Bryan Acheampong campaign, despite its statement calling for a decent contest devoid of personal attacks, is clearly doing the opposite.

In the space of just seven days, Acheampong attacked Bawumia using his Mamprusi identity as a political weapon, then called for unity and decency, only to return with another scathing attack after the former Vice-President submitted his nomination forms.

Ironically, when Bryan issued his statement calling for unity and a clean campaign, it gave the impression that other camps were guilty of personal attacks, portraying himself and his team as innocent.

This reminds me of the proverbial magpie in that Akan saying. For the magpie to build its nest, it muddies the water to fetch clay. But after muddying the water, it turns around to accuse others of polluting the stream, before calling for its preservation.

For there to be true unity in the NPP and a decent campaign free from unfounded personal attacks, no one should muddy the stream upstream and then appear downstream, pointing accusing fingers like the proverbial magpie.

Don’t be an anomaa kokone kone, Bryan.