A member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) National Communications Team, Richard Gyamfi, has revealed how US-based journalist Kevin Taylor nearly forced him out of politics through what he describes as false claims about him during his time as a youth organiser in the United Kingdom.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, Gyamfi said Taylor targeted him while he was working to mobilise young people in the UK to travel to Ghana and register to vote.
“I was minding my business. I managed to convince people, young people, to come to Ghana to register to vote. And this guy made a complete lie about me,” he said.
Gyamfi explained that Taylor allegedly used his platform to make claims about his personal life and finances, including remarks about his mother’s occupation and how he could afford to charter a flight.
“He made a complete lie about me. Front page, lambasted me that my mother sells at Makola Market and look at this poor boy, because an MP is in power, he can charter a whole flight,” Gyamfi recounted.
He said the allegations had consequences beyond his political work, as they also affected his family.
“My mum was in America and called me. ‘You have to stop this politics,’” he said, recalling his mother’s reaction to the claims.
Gyamfi said the experience nearly ended his political ambitions, as he had to deal with allegations he insists were fabricated. He argued that Taylor’s comments were part of a wider pattern of insults and attacks against public figures.
He went on to accuse the journalist of making disparaging remarks about traditional leaders, politicians and religious figures, including comments about the Golden Stool and former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
Gyamfi questioned why the public debate about political insults had become particularly focused on recent arrests, when, in his view, similar conduct had previously been tolerated.
Host Moro Awudu cautioned him against narrowing the discussion to Taylor, stressing that the issue of insults in public discourse was broader than one individual.
Gyamfi, however, maintained that his personal experience illustrated the impact such attacks could have on people’s lives and political careers.
