Ejura committee: Sanction military personnel for 'inappropriate use of force'

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Sep - 27 - 2021 , 17:21

The Ministerial Committee that investigated the circumstances that led to the recent deaths in Ejura in the Ashanti Region has recommended the application of appropriate sanctions against the military personnel on the ground whose gunshots killed two people.

In a 55-page report published by the government on Monday (September 27), the Committee recommend that, the Military Establishment should "review the actions of the Section on the ground, led by Lieutenant Martin Opoku Adusei, for the inappropriate use of force, and apply appropriate sanctions."

The three-member ministerial committee investigated the disturbances at Ejura in the Ashanti Region.

Among other things, the Committee made some 10 recommendations which included the removal of the Ejura-Sekyedumasi Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), who already pulled out of the race for a new MCE, and compensation for the affected families and victims.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in July 2021, directed the Ministry of Interior to conduct a public inquiry following the killing of two persons and injuries to four others by soldiers during a protest against the death of a social media activist, Ibrahim Muhammed, popularly known as Kaaka Macho.

Kaaka died on Monday, June 28, 2021, after he was attacked by an unknown assailant while returning home from an event he attended in the area.

Earlier reports suggested that Kaaka was killed because of his social activism, which some persons felt was making the government unpopular, but police reports suggest otherwise after three people including his brother were arrested and put before court in connection with the killing.

The Ministry of Interior subsequently constituted a three-member committee chaired by Justice George Kingsley Koomson to probe the issue and make recommendations.

As part of the recommendations, the committee has also recommended the immediate transfer of the Ejura-Sekyedumasi District Commander of Police, DSP Philip Kojo Hammond.

The Committee explained that the police commander should be transferred on grounds of incompetence in handling the situation and "for the fact that his relationship with the community seems to have been damaged beyond repair."