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Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Mr. Sam George, has appealed to Speaker of the House to direct state institutions responsible for the payment of compensations to victims of the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence to do so expeditiously.
He disclosed that despite recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on compensation for eight out of the sixteen victims and its acceptance in the government White Paper, these victims have largely been ignored.
Spouses of the victims, he said, petitioned the government through the Ministry of Gender for action on their compensation but have also been ignored.
Sam George, in a statement to the House to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the Ayawaso by-election violence on Tuesday, said the incident has left an indelible scar on the 4th Republican democracy.
According to him, the harrowing incidents of the day have marred Ghana’s democracy and questioned faith in the security services.
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He said, “The public outcry and international condemnation led to the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo pursuant to article 278 of the constitution to probe the unfortunate events that undermined the electoral process that fateful day.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Commission chaired by Justice Emile F. Short on the 14th of March 2019 submitted its report to the Presidency and made recommendations for further investigations, compensation, structural changes in the security architecture of the Country among other recommendations.”
“Government in its white paper shockingly disagreed with a large portion of the recommendations and even questioned if the Commission’s eminent members understood the mandate and scope of their work.”
Government, he said, however, accepted to pay some compensation to some identified individuals who had suffered the brutality of state operatives.
He said, “It is heartbreaking Mr. Speaker for me to stand in the people’s Chamber two years on and recount how none of these individuals has received any compensation or support from the State.”
“I am heartbroken as I myself was a victim of the recklessness that characterized the action of state operatives on the day.”
“I saw firsthand the brutality meted out to some of these innocent citizens of our Republic.”
According to Mr. George, he personally submitted a petition to the police and the CID identifying some of his assailants.
“It is almost two years and the Police has failed to as much as respond to my petition whilst my assailant walks freely,” he added
This inertia, he cautioned, in the delivery of justice is what leads many to question if true justice would be served.
The citizenry, he said, demand and deserve justice and urged Parliament as the representatives of the people and the true bastion of democracy to hold State security agents to account for their infractions of the law.
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“We cannot fail. We must demand that justice is served the eight citizens whom the government has pledged to compensate.”
“The tenets of democracy must be protected. The rule of law, accountability and the protection of the Human rights of citizens is essential in this democratic dispensation and nothing or no one must be allowed to jeopardize this,” he said.
Deputy Majority leader, Frank Annor Dompreh, in his contribution to the statement called for equity in the condemnation of election violence.
The statement, he said, was discriminatory because it left out similar incidents of violence that occurred in Cheriponi and other constituencies.
According to him, it is time to sound re-conciliatory and to condemn all acts of violence that occur during all by-elections.
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FrontPageGhana.com/Osman Marani
