The Committee of Defence and Interior in Parliament has been directed to proceed to Wa in the Upper West Region to investigate the incident where military personnel on 1st June 2021 reportedly went on rampage and assaulted every young man on sight leading to some sustaining serious injuries.
The Committee has been given four weeks to investigate, collect and collate the facts and report to the House.
First Deputy Speaker of Joseph Osei-Owusu issued the directive after an application from the Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, for the House to conduct its own independent probe into the incident.
The Minority leader raised concern on the floor of the House on Friday, on the incident, which was said to be a response to a soldier being robbed at knifepoint, leading to loss of mobile phone.
The incident was captured on video and shared on social media showing the soldiers stopping young men riding motorcycles and tricycles and subjecting them to severe and inhumane beatings.
The Minority leader warned there appear to be a worrying development in the country bordering on the safety and security of Ghanaian citizens and largely led by military personnel.
He noted that the state is yet to put the Ejura incident behind it where there were excesses that resulted in the loss of lives following the death of Ibrahim Kaka.
“Mr. Speaker, yesterday I watched another development in Wa, a very peaceful city in our country, and there is indication that military and civilian relation is at its lowest ebb.
“Men of the Ghana Armed Forces were video tape humiliating and beating Ghanaian civilians, whose rights and freedoms are guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution”, he lamented.
According to Mr. Iddrisu, whatever grievances any member of the armed forces has, Ghana is a country governed by law and therefore they cannot continue to take the law into their hands.
Ghanaians, he said, will not accept a state of lawlessness in the country based on lawlessness and led by men in uniform.
“We know their duty as defined by this Constitution; maintenance of law and order is the preserve and mandate of the police and territorial integrity is for the Ghana Armed Forces.
“When necessary they can keep the peace, but they have no moral duty to undermine the peace and to abuse the rights and freedoms of innocent Ghanaians,” he stated.
This, he said, cannot continue and appealed to the Speaker for the Defence and Interior Committee to visit Wa and appraise itself on the circumstances and developments and report to the House.
Majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, supported the call for Parliamentary investigation and indicated it will be in tandem with Article 103 of the 1992 Constitution.
He, however, noted there is creeping lawlessness into the Ghanaian society not necessarily led by the military but by the civilian population.
That, he said, cannot be a happy news for anybody and stressed every Ghanaian should live up to their responsibilities.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu expressed hope after the inquiry, the report the Committee would present will help shape and control the activities of the military in such usual times.
Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, appraised members on the current development and indicated the Military High Command has condemned the incident and promised to discipline the officers involved.
The Command, he said, has also sent the Chief of Army Staff to Wa because of the seriousness with which it views the matter, to meet the people of the region at the Wa Na Palace and officially apologize to them.
The Military, he said, has very good standing relationships with the people who have been very helpful in the fight against terrorism.
According to him, the incident is therefore unfortunate and should not have happened because it was not sanctioned, neither by the Regional Minister, the Commanding Officers nor anybody in Accra.
He, however, noted he would not object to Parliament conducting its own independent investigation into the incident and making some recommendations.
