Parliament Summons Kan Dapaah Over Military Brutalities Against Civilians

Ghana’s Parliament has summoned the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah, to appear before the House on November 9, 2023, to brief the plenary on military brutalities meted out to some residents of Garu and Tempane on October 29, 2023.

The invitation was given by the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, for the minister to throw light on what he knew about the military assaults that also maimed some of the residents.

Mr Amoako had earlier announced to the plenary that he would defer a decision on setting up a committee to probe the incident.

“Probably what we are hearing is different from what the minister has up in his sleeves.

 So, let us invite the minister to appear before the House as he probably might have heard all that went on,” he said.

Urgent statement  

The summon came after the National Democratic Congress  (NDC)MP for Garu, Albert Alalzuuga Akuka, had presented an urgent statement on the floor on the military brutalities meted out to innocent residents of Garu and Tempane on October 29, 2023.

Contributing, colleague MPs from both sides of the House condemned the military for taking the law into their own hands, and unanimously called for the National Security Minister to be hauled before the House to speak to the issue.

Unacceptable violation  

Presenting his statement, Mr Akuka said he was deeply concerned about how the military officers reportedly brutalised and maimed the residents.

He said the incident had added to the long list of barbaric and inhumane action carried out by men in uniform on innocent civilians whom they ought to be protecting as a matter of responsibility.

He told the House that reports by residents during his checks with them suggested that their monies and other valuable items were taken away by the officers in the swoop.  

“As the MP for Garu, all my efforts to get answers regarding the number of residents picked up by the military officers during this dastardly swoop, their whereabouts and the crime for which they have been picked up have yielded no results two clear days after the unfortunate brutalities were visited upon them.

“This is an unacceptable violation of our citizens’ rights, and as a matter of urgency, I am strongly calling and demanding for an immediate government intervention to address this issue and also for Parliament to open a probe into this matter, and bring a comprehensive resolution to it,” he said. 

Excesses

We shouldn’t encourage excesses Contributing, the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, said Parliament must not encourage military excesses on innocent citizens.

“No matter the provocation, it cannot be an excuse for any form of brutality; the military may have their own accounts of events but it should not be the life of national security operatives was threatened and as a result they have to take certain action belatedly,” he said.

The Ranking Member on the Defence Committee, James Agalga, urged the Speaker to order for the immediate release of the victims to be flown from Garu to Accra.

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