'You don't deserve to be parliamentarian in a law abiding, God fearing country' — Prof Sampene slams Amenfi East NPP PC

Forensic pathologist Prof. Paul Osei Sampene has rebuked Ernest Frimpong, the New Patriotic Party's parliamentary candidate for the Amenfi East constituency, following a viral video in which Frimpong appears to encourage small-scale miners to resist military intervention.

In the video, Frimpong is seen addressing what is believed to be a group of small-scale miners, allegedly advising them to confront and resist military officers who come to shut down their mining operations.

Prof. Sampene, who has extensively researched the detrimental impacts of illegal mining, expressed dismay at Frimpong's comments.

"What I heard is sickening, very sad, very devastating, very horrible, and very disgusting, especially coming from someone who aspires to be a parliamentary candidate to lead a constituency," Prof. Sampene stated on Abusua FM's news analysis program 'Bresosem'.

Prof. Sampene insisted that Frimpong’s rhetoric is unbecoming of someone seeking to hold a parliamentary position in a law-abiding and God-fearing country.

"Any serious country where laws work and they fear God, to say such a direct message, this man should not be given the opportunity to serve in this country as a parliamentarian," he emphasized.

He further advised that Frimpong should be stripped of his candidacy, regardless of the support he might receive from NPP delegates.

When asked if Frimpong's comments had discouraged him from continuing his research on the effects of illegal mining, Prof. Sampene revealed that he had, in fact, intensified his efforts.

"I have not given up on the research I am doing as far as galamsey is concerned. As we speak now, I am still doing what I am doing, this time making it a bit larger and bigger than what I did," he said.

Prof. Sampene also discussed the challenges he faces in his research, such as obtaining ethics approval and securing necessary funding.

He highlighted the difficulties in motivating patients to participate in his studies without expecting any financial incentives.

"It is not easy getting ethics approval and the amount involved in the work. You will go to a hospital and they will tell you the patients at the various hospitals are not ready to give you whatever you want... so you need to motivate patients to participate. In Ghana, it is not sufficient to simply emphasize the importance of the research; rather, financial incentives are necessary to motivate patients to cooperate," he stressed.

Prof. Sampene's groundbreaking research on the effects of chemicals used in illegal mining on the fetuses of pregnant women has been prominently featured in anti-galamsey reports by Ghana's GJA best journalist Erastus Asare Donkor and EIB's reporter, Isaac Bediako Justice.

His work, which highlights the risk of severe birth defects caused by these chemicals, has been instrumental in motivating governmental and research efforts to address the health and environmental impacts of illegal mining.