Member of the New Patriotic Party’s Communication Team, Nana K rebuking communicators of the opposition NDC says, “We all need to grow from propaganda and focus on issues that will bring peace and calm to Ghana.”
His stance comes on the back of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) condemning findings and recommendations presented by the three-member ministerial committee that investigated the disturbances at Ejura in the Ashanti Region.
Advising his colleagues in the NDC he said, “If we are not careful, we might lose the truth in the name of politics. We all know that Kaaka’s death has nothing to do with the government or police but it was a family issue and that is why his brother has been arrested for investigations. The NDC just wants to score cheap political points with his death and that is wrong.”
According to him, recommendations from the Ejura Committee were well thought out and need to be accepted wholly.
To him the NDC condemning the establishment of Sports and Recreational Facilities in Ejura under the Zongo Development Fund, to rechannel the energies of the youth shows their lack of understanding. “That recommendation was given so the youth will channel their energies into something positive. We shouldn’t trivialize the recommendation.”
He noted that recommendation 3; the expansion of the Ejura Police Station and an increase in personnel will prevent such an incident from repeating itself. “With enough police personnel in Ejura, there would’ve been no need reinforcement from the regional command. I believe if these recommendations are accepted and implemented, it will help us develop as a nation,” he told Don Kwabena Prah on Happy98.9FM’s Epa Hoa Daben political talk show.
Background
The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, earlier in July 2021, directed the Interior Ministry to conduct a public inquiry following the killing of two persons and injuries to four others by soldiers during a protest against the killing of a social activist, Ibrahim Muhammed, popularly known as Kaaka Macho.
Kaaka died on Monday, June 28, 2021, after he was attacked by unknown assailants 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 the court over the killing.
The Interior Ministry subsequently constituted a three-member committee chaired by Justice George Kingsley Koomson to probe the issue and make recommendations.
The committee made the recommendations as listed below;
- Adequate compensation for the families of the two deceased persons, Abdul Nasir Yusuf and Murtala Suraj Mohammed. It further recommended that the injured persons, Louis Ayikpa, Awal Misbau, and Nasif Nuhu.
- The immediate transfer of the District Police commander of Ejura, DSP Philip Kojo Hammond for his incompetence in handling the situation and also for the fact that his relationship with the community seems to have been damaged beyond repair.
- The expansion of the Ejura Police Station and an increase in personnel.
- 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.
- 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.
- The training of REGSEC, MUSEC, and DISEC officials in the Ashanti Region in Conflict and Crisis Management at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College at least once every year.
- The development of a joint Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) for Military/ Police operations, including roles for indispensable allied agencies like the National Fire Service, National Ambulance Service, etc.
- The National Commission for Civic Education should intensify its Public education in relation to the rights, obligations, and civic responsibilities of the people of Ejura.
- All crowd/riot/crisis control units be made to wear bodycams, and all vehicles and
mobile gadgets employed must also have cameras. - The establishment of Sports and Recreational Facilities in Ejura under the Zongo Development Fund, to rechannel the energies of the youth.
