Tag: Ejura

Ejura murder probe: Committee makes 10 recommendations for government’s consideration
Committee makes 10 recommendations for government’s consideration

The three-member committee set up to probe circumstances leading to the clash between Police cum Military personnel and the irate youth of Ejura that led to the death of two persons on June 29, has made ten recommendations for the government’s consideration.

Ghanatodayonline.com has received a copy of the recommendations made by the Committee, which comprised George Kingsley Koomson, Justice of the Court of Appeal, Security Expert, Dr. Vladimir Antwi Danso, and Juliet Amoah, Executive Director of Penplusbyte, a civil society organization.

Among others, the committee recommended the transfer of the District Police Commander of Ejura, DSP Philip Kojo Hammond for his incompetence in handling the issue.

The Committee also recommended that the families of the two deceased and other affected persons, be compensated.

They also recommended the removal of the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipal Chief Executive, Mohammed Salisu Bamba.

According to the Committee, his continuous presence as MCE would exacerbate the already tense security situation in Ejura. Meanwhile, Mr. Bamba was reported on July 15, to have withdrawn his application for re-appointment as MCE for the area.

SEE ALSO: Ejura murder probe: Committee recommends transfer of Ejura District Police Commander, DSP Hammond

Below are the recommendations;
1. The Committee recommends adequate Compensation for the families of the two deceased persons, namely, Abdul Nasir Yusif and Murtala Suraj Mohammed. Adequate compensation must also be paid to other injured persons, namely; Louis Ayikpa (20 years), Awal Misbau (16 years), and Nasif Nuhu (30 years). These are the names known to the Committee.
2. The Committee recommends the immediate transfer of the District Police Commander of Ejura, DSP Philip Kojo Hammond, first for his incompetence in handling the situation and for the fact that his relationship with the community seems to have been damaged beyond repair.

3. We further recommend the structural expansion of the Ejura Police Station and an increase in personnel.

4. We recommend the removal of the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipal Chief Executive, Honourable Mohammed Salisu Bamba since his continuous presence as MCE would exacerbate the already tense security situation in Ejura.

5. It is further recommended that the Military Establishment 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.

6. We further recommend the training of REGSEC, MUSEC, and DISEC officials in the Ashanti Region in Conflict and Crises Management at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College at least once every year.

7. We recommend the development of a joint Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) for Military / Police operations, including roles for indispensable allied agencies like the National Investigations Bureau, NADMO, Ghana National Fire Service, National Ambulance Service, etc.

8. We further recommend that the NCCE should intensify its Public education in relation to the rights, obligations, and civic responsibilities of the people of Ejura.

9. It is further recommended that all crowd /riot/crises control units be made to wear bodycams and all vehicles and mobile gadgets employed must also have cameras.

10. We recommend the establishment of a Sports and other Recreational Facilities in Ejura under the Zongo Development Fund, so as to re-channel the energies of the youth.

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September 28, 2021
Ejura murder probe: Committee recommends transfer of Ejura District Police Commander, DSP Hammond

Ejura murder probe: Committee recommends transfer of Ejura District Police Commander, DSP Hammond

The Ministerial Committee of Inquiry tasked to probe the Ejura disturbances in June 2021 has recommended the immediate transfer of the District Police Commander for incompetence in handling the security situation in the area.

In a 55-page report submitted to the Interior Minister and sighted by Ghanatodayonline.com, the Justice Koomson Committee said that DSP Philip Kojo Hammond’s relationship with the Ejura residents has turned sour, thus not prudent for him to be at post.

“The Committee recommends the immediate transfer of the District Police Commander of Ejura, DSP Philip Kojo Hammond, first for his incompetence in handling the situation and for the fact that his relationship with the community seems to have been damaged beyond repair,” the report said.

Presenting its findings, the Committee stated that there was no basis for the dispatch of a Police Riot Vehicle (water canon) to the cemetery on the morning of June 29 when the slain social media activist was being buried.

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According to the report, the decision to deploy the riot vehicle was tantamount to provocation.

Testifying before the Committee, both Deputy Ashanti Regional and Ejura District Police Commanders told the three-member body that the deployment was on the request of Kaka’s family; a claim the family denied.

The Police commanders could not tell the Committee the name and particulars of the said family member who made this request.

The Committee also revealed that there was no need for the security personnel who were deployed in Ejura to restore calm on the 28th of June, to have left Ejura in the early hours of 29th June. The Committee finds that this created a security vacuum in the town.

The Justice Koomson Committee said it is convinced that having withdrawn the security personnel deployed on June 28 from Ejura, the District Police Commander failed in his duty to adequately brief his superiors in the Divisional and Regional level to beef up the personnel and logistics in anticipation of any eventualities on June 29.

It added that, if it was in fact true that “Kaaka’s” family requested for security during the burial, as alleged by the District Police Commander, there should have been an adequate signal to the District Commander to have immediately requested for the necessary logistics and personnel to deal with any unwarranted situation.

Rather, the District Commander decided to deploy the Riot Vehicle to the cemetery.

The Committee found the District Commander to be incompetent and ill-prepared for the occasion.

It further revealed that the Police did not work on their intelligence sharing. It failed to prepare for the situation on the ground and over-relied on the Military personnel; thereby failed to organise adequately in terms of personnel and equipment.

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September 28, 2021
Soldiers are not trained to shoot above the knee – Boakye-Djan

Soldiers are not trained to shoot above the knee – Boakye-Djan

A former Spokesperson of the defund Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) Major retired Osahene Kojo Boakye-Djan has waded into the arbitrary shooting of protesters in Ejura in the Ashanti Region, killing two persons and injuring four others.

he said the military manual on training its personnel does not allow for shooting above the knee in order to cause deaf in situations other than war.

He added that the military men deployed to disperse the unarmed protestors in Ejura seemed unprofessional to him because real military officers would have used tear gas and water hose in that endeavor instead of aiming to kill unarmed civilians.

Major (Ret) Boakye Gyan said it was highly unmilitaristic for a soldier to shoot young boys running away at the sight of the military men in Ejura and even if it came to the point of shooting there were certain precautionary measures to take before shooting as the military training manual dictates.

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He, therefore, described the killing in Ejura as an “aimed shot” directed to kill rather than control the upheaval in the enclave.

Major (Ret.) Boakye Gyan posited that in his assessment the soldiers deployed to Ejura to control the crowd were not trained personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces. Because Ghanaian soldiers are trained to go and defend the peace in other countries so how can they fail in their own countries.

He has thus entreated the military to investigate the debacle in Ejura because to him he does not believe they were real soldiers.

In an interview with Yaa Titi Okrah on Onua FM’s Pae Mu Ka programme, he insisted that trained soldiers will not dare to behave arbitrarily in the manner exhibited in Ejura.

He was commenting on the back of the military shooting in Ejura which resulted in killing two persons and wounding four others in the process of controlling a protest in that enclave.

“What is happening in the country resulting in the castigation of soldiers and military personnel saddens my heart. For example, what happened in Ejura where the protesters were running away and were shot from behind, the manual does not allow that. You make sure you disperse them either using tear gas or water hose or those things but to shoot from behind knowing that they might die is highly unprofessional.

“In any case, if you had to shoot, there must be so many steps to take, you should not shoot from above knee level. What we witnessed was an aimed shot, sorry I have to use that term because their practice was not that of soldiers. I strongly believe the one who shot the civilians was not a trained soldier, he can’t even be a trained police officer”, the veteran officer declared.

Source: 3 news.com || Shop @torsaa

July 8, 2021