Smuggled in a Car Boot? The Strange Tale of the Late Akwatia MP Ernest Yaw Kumi
A few years ago, I found myself stuck in traffic on a dusty Accra road, watching a man do the unthinkable — squeezing himself into the boot of a beat-up taxi. Don’t ask me why. Maybe he was evading someone. Maybe he owed the mate. I’ll never know. But that image — someone hidden away in the most unlikely place — came flooding back when I stumbled on this wild story about the late Akwatia MP, Ernest Yaw Kumi. Apparently, he was once “smuggled” in the boot of a car too.
Now, if you’re like me, you probably just paused your social media scroll to read that line twice. An MP — an honourable — hidden in a boot? Yep. According to the Bosome-Freho MP, Akwasi Darko Boateng, this wasn’t some hush-hush urban legend. He claims Kumi had to be whisked away in the dead of night, stuffed like contraband into a car boot, just to avoid some political foes.
Crazy, right? But honestly, in our part of the world, I’m not even shocked. I’ve noticed that politics here is almost like a Netflix thriller — plenty of plot twists, backroom deals, betrayals, and, apparently, secret car boot rides.
The thing is, the late Kumi was no ordinary figure. He was that kind of young, promising MP who’d ruffle feathers without even trying too hard. His rising popularity in Akwatia was both a blessing and a curse — some folks loved him; others saw him as a threat that needed to be… let’s just say, “contained”. And according to Boateng’s revelation, the only way to save Kumi’s skin at that point was to pull a James Bond — or, well, a “boot smuggle”.
I can’t pretend to know every detail behind why this all went down. Maybe there was a fight for party control. Maybe it was a personal vendetta. In my opinion, politics is messy business — you’re everyone’s darling one minute, public enemy the next. (Funny how it’s never boring though.)
But this whole thing leaves me wondering: how many times have leaders — not just here but anywhere — done the most unthinkable things to survive the game? If an MP can hide in a boot just to stay alive, what else happens behind closed doors, late-night phone calls, hush-hush convoys?
Makes you think, doesn’t it?
So next time you hear someone talk about “the honourable” in their big V8 with the siren blaring, remember — sometimes, that same “honourable” might’ve once been curled up in the dark, breathing stale air, praying no one would find him.
Do you ever wonder how far you’d go just to hold on to power — or to stay alive for what you believe in? I do. And honestly, I’m not sure I’d fit in a boot. Would you?