The Committee said the military lied about their first response in Ejura
• The military sent to Ejura in June, fired into the crowd
• The committee that looked into the case said it was baffled the military was there
• The report said it was true that there was intelligence that the youth wanted to attack the police station
The Committee that looked into the disturbances that occurred in Ejura in late June this year, leading to the death of two, has expressed great shock at the decision of authorities to fall on the military as a first response to the unrest that happened in the town.
The youth of Ejura in the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality had hit the streets to register their displeasure about events that led to the death of one of their own, Mohammed ‘Kaaka’ Ibrahim, in what at the time, was reported to have been a killing by a mob.
In what would follow after that, military and police personnel moved into the town, clashing with the youth, leading to the gravity of the casualties that prompted the setting up of the 3-member Committee to investigate it.
In its 55-paged report released on September 27, 2021, the Committee stated that indeed, there was evidence to support the claim that the youth of Ejura had planned to destroy properties.
“We note this because, from the evidence tendered by the security personnel to the Committee, one thing that was clear is that, all of them agree that they had intelligence that the youth wanted to attack the police station, Municipal Assembly and other installations,” it said.
But, the report continued that it was baffled by the use of military to quell the situation particularly when they are not mostly used in diffusing situations like that.
“If this intelligence were in existence, we are baffled that nothing more concrete was put in place to forestall the escalation of the situation than to rely on Military deployment, knowing that the Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) of the Military is such that they should not be used as a first line of riot control or crises management, but as a last resort,” the report stated in part.
Also, the report stated that, contrary to claims they resorted to verbal warnings when they arrived at the scene, the first response of the soldiers in Ejura was to begin using gun power to disperse the young men and women.
“In relation to the response of the Military personnel on the 29th June, we note from the evidence that, immediately the personnel touched down, they started firing warning shots, contrary to the evidence of the GOC (Central Command) which was to the effect that, they gave a verbal warning which was ignored before the warning shots begun,” it stated.
See the full report here:
Background
On Saturday June 26, 2021, a social media activist Mohammed Ibrahim, alias Kaaka, was attacked by unknown assailants in front of his house around 1:30 am and left in a critical condition.
He subsequently died at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital after he was referred there from the Ejura Government Hospital.
The circumstances surrounding his death led to the youth of Ejura embarking on a demonstration after his burial. This resulted in a clash between the youth and security officers.
Two persons died from the clash and several others got injured.
The Minister of Interior set up a three-member committee chaired by Court of Appeal Judge, Justice George Koomson, to look into event around the Ejura disturbances and present its report.
The Committee on July 28, 2021, presented its report to the Minister, following the completion of its work.
The 55-paged report, among other things, contains the committee’s findings and recommendations on the shooting incident at Ejura.