Horseman Shoes’ Tony Senayah Regrets Campaigning Against John Mahama

Owner of Ghanaian shoe brand, Horseman Shoes, Tony Senayah, has voiced his regret over political campaigns that he participated in against former President John Mahama and his government.

In an interview with KKB, host of ’21 Minutes With KKB,’ Mr. Senayah confesses that former President Mahama was a good man who did not deserve the venom that he joined others to spit at him just so Akufo-Addo and his NPP can come into office.

“John is a good guy,” a sobered Mr. Senayah confessed.

He admits that Mr. Mahama was so gracious and tolerant that even though he campaigned against him, Mahama did not only wear his shoes and give him free publicity but actually called him personally and gave him fatherly advice. 

Senayah had joined agents of the then opposition NPP masking as pressure group Occupy Ghana. The group marched to the Jubilee House to hold a demonstration against the Mahama government for the economic hardship at the time.

“See, before he mentioned me, they told him that chief, this guy has been criticizing you he said ‘no, it’s ok, he is Ghanaian, so he mentioned me (in the state of the nation address) and then in July, 1st July, I went on demonstration against him. The party was very, very angry so he got in touch with me and told me to stay away from politics,” Senayah recounts.

“He said “Tony, our politics is so vicious, if you want to do business, stay away from politics,” and I was touched, because this is a sitting president who has worn your shoes, given you and endorsement money cannot pay for, you have gone on a demonstration against him, he still called and gave me an advice,” he confessed.

Tony Senayah’s Horseman Shoe was an obscure brand that nobody gave a toss about until then-President John Mahama in 2015, bought some of the shoes and wore them to Parliament to present the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

To demonstrate that Ghanaians have the entrepreneurial skills that deserve help from the government, President Mahama displayed his fresh pair of Horseman Shoes in Parliament, named Mr. Senayah as the proud Ghanaian shoemaker and then encouraged the public to patronize Horseman shoes.

Courtesy of that Mahama endorsement, Tony Senayah and his Horseman shoes became a leading shoe brand in Ghana and earned international prestige overnight. 

When asked if he regrets campaigning for change against the Mahama government, the remorseful Senayah blurted out: ‘’yes, with the benefit of hindsight, I think that it was politically incorrect, so yes I do regret.”

Mr. Senayah also admitted he had been fooled by the organizers of the Occupy Ghana demonstrations, saying what they had advertised as the purpose of their demonstration-betterment of the lives of Ghanaians, was not the case and that they had had nefarious political motives.

“… I also think that what the conveners sold was, like it was a Ghanaian thing but when you got there, it was for political actors, let me put it that way. So today, most of them who were at the some are Finance Ministers, some are at GIPC, some are Ministers, some are in the Office of the President,” he noted.

Mr. Tony Senayah is not the only one who has regretted allowing himself to be used. In the lead-up to the 2020 elections, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe of IMANI Africa, became contrite, stating he regretted doing some things he did against the Mahama government and admitting what they complained against the Mahama government was far better than the mess that the Akufo-Addo government has perpetrated.