Accra, March 15, GNA – The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD Ghana) is highly appalled by the conduct of the military officers at Ashaiman.
A statement issued by CDD Ghana to the Ghana News Agency said in the early hours of Tuesday, March 7, 2023, some officers of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), under the authorization of the Military High Command, conducted a swoop at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region.
It said the swoop followed the alleged killing of a young military officer, Trooper Imoro Sherrif, by unknown assailants in the town on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
It said, described by the GAF as an “intelligence-led operation,” it was aimed at finding the perpetrators of the crime.
The statement said the brutal force used by military personnel in their “intelligence-led operation” left many unsuspecting civilian residents of Ashaiman with various degrees of injuries.
It said others were confined to their homes for hours in fear of falling victim to the unprofessional conduct of the military personnel.
It noted that about 184 persons were arrested during this exercise by the military; adding that some were tortured while others were subjected to all kinds of inhumane treatment by the military.
“We are further deeply dismayed by the revelation that this flagrantly unprofessional and barbaric conduct by military personnel was sanctioned by the military hierarchy and received justification and approval not only from the Military High Command but also from a Deputy Minister of Defence, Kwaku Amankwa Manu, who as a member of the civilian government must exercise oversight and control over the conduct and operations of the armed forces.
“However dastardly, the alleged killing of a military officer and its investigation is a matter of internal security and criminal law enforcement which is the exclusive mandate of the Ghana Police Service, and not the Ghana Armed Forces.”
It said the Ghana Armed Forces should not be free to unilaterally use arms, military accoutrements and other taxpayer/public-funded resources entrusted to their care for the defence of the nation to avenge a crime committed against one of their own.
The statement said resorting to militarized self-help of this nature for criminal acts committed against individual military personnel undermines the rule of law and creates uneasiness among the civilian population.
It said the fact that the swoop at Ashaiman was not an isolated incident, it also gave cause for great concern.
It said on many occasions in the past, some officers of the Ghana Armed Forces have resorted to acts of militarized self-help in various parts of the country; terrorizing unsuspecting civilians and leaving many injured.
It said for instance, on or about July 1, 2021, a group of military men were reported to have assaulted some civilians in Wa in the Upper West Region after a phone belonging to one of the military men was allegedly stolen in the area.
“Unfortunately, it appears the punishment meted out to soldiers has prevented these acts from re-occurring.
“We commend the efforts of the Ghana Police Service in tracking down the perpetrators of this dastardly act.”
The statement said however, in the broader spirit of exercising democratic control over the operations and conduct of the armed forces, CDD Ghana urged Parliament to investigate the incident; cause sanctions to be imposed on all persons implicated in the swoop at Ashaiman and ensure that justice was done.
It said CDD Ghana was also urging all persons directly affected by the conduct of the military personnel at Ashaiman to seek redress at the courts.
The statement said the Executive branch must also be advised that failing to condemn and sanction the military officers implicated in the episode was a slippery slope toward a generalized state of lawlessness and anarchy.
“We must remember that under a democratically-elected civilian government, such brutal and unprofessional conduct of soldiers characteristic of military regimes in the past, cannot be encouraged and must never be repeated.”
The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) is an independent, non-governmental, and not-for-profit organization that promotes and supports, through research, education, advocacy, and policy engagement, efforts to build democracy, good governance, and inclusive development in Ghana and throughout Africa.
CDD-Ghana’s research outputs and other products are available to and used by governmental and non-governmental agencies, African regional bodies, development partners as well as researchers and the public.
GNA