The Member of Parliament for Ejura Sekyedumase, Mohammed Braimah, has called on the Defence and Interior, and the National Security ministries, to stop deploying the military to control protestors.
According to him, the officers of the Ghana Police Service are better placed to handle such situations since they are specifically trained on crowd control.
Speaking to Citi News after visiting the families of the deceased, the MP said the killing of two protestors who were part of residents demanding justice for the killing of a community member was needless and avoidable.
According to him, the various security agencies must be allowed to play their respective roles assigned to them by the 1992 Constitution of the country.
He insists that this is the only way such occurrences can be prevented from recurring.
“I feel the wanton deployment of the military in internal security exercises is not helping this country. We are all aware of the military that were deployed to Techiman South in the 2020 general elections and how people lost their lives and also what happened at Ablekuma Central during the same elections leading to the loss of lives. We all have seen the military that came to Ejura and people have lost their lives here too.”
“The various security agencies have been trained on the various roles that have been assigned to them by the 1992 constitution of Ghana, and we should as much as possible try to let the various security agencies play their roles and act on the areas in which they have been trained. By this, I am calling on the ministers for the Interior, Defense, and National Security to see to the ending of this menace.”
Meanwhile, the Ejura Sekyedumase lawmaker has already disclosed his intentions to haul the Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul before Parliament to answer questions over the killing in Ejura.
Background
A social activist, Ibrahim Muhammed, died on Monday, June 28, 2021, after he was attacked by a mob when he was returning home on his motorbike on Sunday at Ejura.
He’s alleged to have been killed because of his social activism, which some felt was making the government unpopular.
The 45-year-old was noted to be vocal on both local and national issues using his Facebook page.
His family said he had faced threats over his activism prior to the attack.
Following his burial, some residents of Ejura started a street protest but were confronted by armed police and military personnel, leading to the death of two persons who were said to have been shot by some soldiers.
The Police claim the protesters had become rowdy and were pelting s the security personnel with stones.
Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Police Command has said it has commenced investigations into the incident.
President Akufo-Addo has also tasked the Interior Ministry to conduct a public inquiry into the killings and present a report in 10 days.
