The Ghana Police Service has conceded that a more effective strategy for dealing with the violence at Kumasi Islamic Senior High School could have been used. According to the service, a more considered approach would have resulted in a far more significant resolution to the pandemonium, rather than the development seen in the Ashanti Region on Monday.
As a result, DCOP Kwesi Akomeah-Apraku who was acting as the Regional Commander has been removed from his position and has been interdicted. Two other officers, ACP Mr. George Ankomah, the Regional Operations Officer, and ACP Mr. Alex Cudjoe Acquah, the Suame Divisional Police Commander have also been interdicted to make way for thorough investigations into the matter. This comes after the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare led a team to the area to assess the situation.
In his statement, he noted, “It was further established that even though nobody was hit by a bullet, the police handling of the incident was poor and fell short of our standard operating procedure on crowd control.”
Context
After police allegedly opened fire to disperse a mob of students at Kumasi’s Islamic Senior High School (SHS), about 20 students were injured and reportedly taken to the hospital. According to sources, the police were taken to the school to keep an ongoing protest under control, but the clash was sparked by a confrontation between the police and the students.
The victims were members of a group of students who blocked the Abrepo Junction-Barekese road to protest incessant pedestrian collisions involving school children and teachers. The enraged students had demanded that speed ramps be fixed on that stretch of road. According to reports, there was vehicle and pedestrian traffic in that area for more than an hour before the police arrived. This is sad and heart-wrenching!
This phenomenon of police brutality has become rampant and it is very alarming. During the #Fixthecountry demonstration, two young men were killed by the police and two injured during protests after the burial of social vocal activist Ibrahim Anyass Muhammed “kaaka” in Ejura. Last month at Kasoa, a woman was brutalized by the police when she tried to stop the police from whipping her husband. Also, in Nkoranza the police allegedly used live bullets on the youth who were protesting the suspicious death of a robbery suspect, Albert Donkor. This left about 9 youth critically injured.
Is the Police Really our Friend?
There have been several other incidents of police brutality in the country with the Islamic SHS shooting which happened on Monday being the most recent. The police’s mandate is to protect the citizens but it appears they have now turned into tyrants and vigilante groups shooting and killing unarmed civilians who “incur” their wrath. What is the cause of such unprofessional behaviour by the police? Are these men really trained as policemen or are they unqualified men in uniforms? As far as the law is concerned, demonstrations remain legal and citizens have every right to do so.
These recent developments have left Ghanaians losing confidence in our security services and drastic measures must be taken to curb this menace. The IGP and the Ghana Police must be more vigilant and be held accountable for the misdemeanour of the police officers. All who are found palpable must be prosecuted and punished by the law. They must also seek justice for all the souls that have been injured and killed as a result of police brutality.