The Ashanti Regional Command has appealed to residents not to politicize yesterday’s shooting incident in which a man named Maphus was allegedly shot by a supporter of Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Member of Parliament for Manhyia. Regional Commander DCOP Augustine Gyening told a press a conference in Kumasi the command is treating the case as a purely criminal one and appealed to residents not to politicize the shooting. He reported that for sometime now, the relationship between Maphus and his shooter, Gausu, had long been strained and that the tension boiled over on Thursday. Maphus is currently on admission at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital with his sister, who tried to rescue him once he sustained gunshots and machete wounds. Other reports that have emerged that conflict with the police narrative. They hold that Opoku Prempeh’s supporters, who were on a door-to-door campaign, attacked Maphus after he allegedly fired a warning shot. However, DCOP Gyening insists that at least one eyewitness has stated that Gausu, who was among Opoku Prempeh’s team, shot Maphus with a locally manufactured pistol after the two exchanged words. At the time of the shooting, Gausu was with the MP, who was campaigning in the area when he and his supporters arrived at Maphus’s Mbrom residence near Ashanti New Town at around 4 pm on Thursday. Inside the house, Maphus apparently exchanged words with Gausu but the two were restrained from fighting by Maphus’s mother, Jamila Ziblim. Ziblim told police that she asked for money and a T-shirt from Dr. Opoku Prempeh when he and his team visited the house. Though she tried to help settle the dispute between Gausu and her son, Gausu would not hear of it, though he later requested that the two settle their differences at the police station. Later in the day, as Gausu was on the way to Abirem in Ashtown, he met Opoku Prempeh and his group. That time, Gausu shot Maphus with a locally manufactured pistol. Once he was incapacitated by the bullet wound, the other members of the group attacked him with machetes. They also attacked Maphus’s sister who had tried to come to his aid. According to DCOP Gyening, Opoku Prempeh has yet to respond to police requests for a statement on the events. He appealed to the Manhyia MP to volunteer his side of the story, which could potentially contribute to the police investigation. Meanwhile, he warned the public that the police will deal ruthlessly with anyone who tries to disrupt the December 7 elections. “The stand of the police is that we will not allow anybody to do anything untoward, meaning that we will deal ruthlessly with anybody who tries to misbehave on elections day,” he warned.