Christian Kwabena Andrews and The Ghana Union Movement

Nov 27

I first came across Christian Kwabena Andrews and his Ghana Union Movement in 2019 while on fieldwork for my Politics PhD. I was immediately interested because it was a political party I hadn’t heard of before then. I asked the people in the bus with me if they knew him, and we had a lively conversation that helped us forget we had been waiting for hours for the bus to get full, and which piqued my interest even more.

I do not take to pay particular attention to new political parties as I do not expect that they will be able to mobilise a significant number of voters to make a splash. Since 2004, the share of votes for small or new political parties in Ghana has been in steady decline, and as long as they continue to use the same (lack of) tactics, this situation is unlikely to change.

But Christian Kwabena Andrews, aka Osofo Kyiri Abosom (Kyiri Abosom meaning TBD, but likely to derive from his being an exorcist) is a pastor with a large church with major branches in Kumasi and Accra, with his own television station and a serious media team.

My tweet on @Kuukuwa_ from Nov 2019 where I was wondering if others had heard of this

A TIMELINE OF THE GHANA UNION MOVEMENT

February to March, 2019

The Ghana Union Movement (GUM) was formed in late 2018 or early 2019, but appears in Ghanaian media to have been “launched” in March, 2020.

The founder of this new Political Party is Reverend Christian Kwabena Andrews, also affectionately called Osofo Kyiri Abosom by his congregation and many followers. tHe describes himself as “the new Kwame Nkrumah”( Beyonce Diamond Kpogli, 2019) in Ghana with the spririt of Nkrumah in him to deliver Nkrumah’s vision and do what all governments since 1957 have been unable to do.

“We are not Nkrumaists because we are not following Nkrumah as a person but only share in his development agenda” - Christian Kwabena Andrews, 2020

Andrews is the founder and General Overseer of Life Assembly Worship Centre, a large church with branches in Accra and Kumasi.

He has a TV station - Fire TV, which also controls several online media channels. A significant amount of airtime on Fire TV, aside religious content is dedicated to showing videos of Nkrumah’s development projects in their prime and scenes of these same projects in their subsequent mismanaged and abandoned states.

Christian Kwabena Andrews. Image Source: Life Assembly Worship Centre

July 2019

The Ghana Union Movement submits an application to the Electoral Commission of Ghana to be officially recognised as a Political Party in Ghana for the purposes of participating in Elections. The Deputy Chairperson of the EC in charge of Operations, Mr Samuel Tettey confirmed this to the Daily Graphic.

At this time, the founder Christian Andrews “stated that although he founded the GUM, he would not lead the movement into the presidential race” (Peace Fm, 2019)

The stated “ideology of the movement” according to the founder is “to revisit the developmental agenda of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, which focused on massive industrialisation across the country to propel national development” (Peace Fm, 2019) by mobilising the youth - particularly unemployed youth of Ghana to revive and deliver Nkrumah’s developmental projects.

Ghana Union Movement Launch Event at Life Assembly Worship Centre. Image Source: Ghana Union Movement

November, 2019

The Electoral Commission of Ghana certifies the Ghana Union Movement and registers it as a political party eligible to participate in electoral politics in Ghana. The National Chairman of the Ghana Union Movement is Samuel Johnson.

The party colours colours are red, yellow, and white. The party emblem features a red fist surrounded by two yellow cupped hands, the party name and their slogan “Arise for Development.

At a point earlier in its history, the Ghana Union Movement was named the “Ghana United Movement” with red, green and white party colours. Perhaps they had to change this because it was too similar to other existing political parties. They also used Nkrumah’s (?) “United We Stand” as a slogan.

“I am not looking for power to make money from the ordinary Ghanaian but rather to help the country evolve with massive development” - Christian Kwabena Andrews, 2020 DavidBa Yaw Paul, 2019

Ghana Union Movement Emblem/ Logo

February 2020

Christian Kwabena Andrews calls on Ghanaian celebrities to help save the country from poor-performing leaders and their political parties by helping him to campaign for president in the 2020 election.

“Osofo Kyiri Abosom stated that it is time for all Ghanaians to come together and vote against leading political parties, NPP and NDC” ( ZionFelix, 2020)

Christian Kwabena Andrews. Image Source: Ghana Union Movement

August 2020

Christian Kwabena Andrews appoints Alhaji Abu Lukeman as his running mate. Andrews had previously declared that he would pick a Muslim as his running mate “for national unity”

“Rev Lenin B. K. Trotsky, Political Scientist of GUM, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that Lukman came with vast experience and acumen from the private sector that would help canvass massive votes for the party in the upcoming December elections”(GNA, 2020)

The GUM plans “to build a territorial polity based on united and all-inclusive political pluralism, similar to the Charter of Medina which was approved by all and signed by the Prophet Mohamed”- "Rev Lenin B. K. Trotsky, “Political Scientist of GUM”(GNA, 2020)