Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, believes President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should be held accountable for the unwarranted levels of violence witnessed during the 2020 general elections.
The MP believes that the President should be ashamed of his failure to ensure that the various security agencies handled events during the elections in a more appropriate manner.
Mr. Ablakwa’s remark follows the submission of a petition to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) by him and another colleague legislator – Ellembelle MP, Emmanuel Kofi Buah – to investigate the violence and killings.
“The buck stops on the leadership. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, the President himself, must be embarrassed that this happened under his watch. He is the Chair of the National Security Council,” Mr. Ablakwa .
Many MPs on the minority side of Parliament have introduced a [private member’s motion] calling for a full-scale investigation into acts of violence that occurred during the 2020 elections.
They want the scope of the investigation to include inappropriate interferences by state security in elections as well as violence against citizens that resulted in the loss of lives, claiming that the IGP and other security agencies broke a promise to Parliament and Ghanaians to protect lives.
The most recent is a petition filed by Messrs Ablakwa and Armah Buah seeking to use CHRAJ’s legal authority to investigate the conduct of security officers during the election.
The MPs have filed a petition against the Ministers of Interior and Defence, as well as the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff.
“That is why in our complaints, we have not left out the politicians because they are the beneficiaries of these shenanigans when they occur. So the Minister of Defence has been cited in this petition. The Minister of Interior because they are in charge and serve on the National Security Council. So we are not stopping at the level of the IGP or Chief of Defense Staff, although they have been cited”, Mr. Ablakwa added.
The Petition
The two MPs’ petition is limited to the Techiman South, Odododiodio, Ablekuma Central, and Savelugu constituencies in the Bono East, Greater Accra, and Northern Regions of Ghana, respectively.
“The complainants herein bring this matter before the Commission based on the Commission’s legal mandate to investigate the conduct of the security officers complained about in the instant petition in a timeous manner for justice to prevail for the victims and their families”, parts of the petition read.
According to the legislators, a review of the documents and video footage accompanying their complaint demonstrates that the victims were indeed injured and killed as a result of the direct conduct or actions of uniformed officers and the National Election Security Taskforce (NESTF) during the elections.
In addition, they stated that the evidence points to a use of unnecessary and unjustifiable brute and excessive force out of proportion to the actual threat, with disregard for less lethal options for the purpose.
According to the petition, “the complainants finally demand that the investigation identify the role played by the Ministers of the Interior and Defence in terms of instructions and orders in relation to the conduct that resulted in this complaint, as well as the lack of leadership or proper oversight to prevent, stop, or respond in a manner to curb the violations that have occurred.”
Reliefs
The MPs are therefore seeking the following reliefs from CHRAJ:
- Investigations into the matters complained about
- Compensation to victims or families of victims
- Disciplinary action and prosecution
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