The National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah has been summoned by Parliament to brief the House on the military’s brutalities and attack on the people of Garu and Tempane in the Upper East Region.
The directive from the Second Deputy Speaker came in response to a statement made on the floor of the House about the incident by Albert Alalzuuga Akuka, Member of Parliament for Garu Constituency in the Upper East Region.
The Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako who chaired the proceeding of the House indicated that the National Security Minister must give some clarifications about the unfortunate incident that happened in Garu and Tempane.
He thus directed Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah to appear before the House on November 9, 2023 to brief Parliament on the incident.
“I will like the Minister for National Security to be here, knowing what has taken place, to brief the House. Afterwards, if there is the need for the Minister to appear before the Committee for Defence and Interior, that will be done. Probably, what we are hearing is different from what the Minister has under his sleeves. So let’s invite the Minister to appear before the House. He will come and brief the House and we will take it from there”.
Andrew Asiamah Amoako, Deputy Speaker of Parliament – Ghana
Garu MP Expresses Concern On Military Brutalities
Again, the Member of Parliament for the Garu Constituency, Albert Alalzuuga Akuka expressed deep concerns and regret about the military brutalities and assault of residents in Garu and Tempane in the Upper East Region .
He further indicated that the action by the military offcers infringes upon the fundamental human rights of the residents of Garu and Tempane who are equally citizens of Ghana
According to the Garu legislator all efforts to get answers regarding the number of residents picked up by the military officers during the swoop and their whereabouts had yielded no results for two clear days.
“It is important to mention that this incident by the military adds to a long list of barbaric and inhumane actions carried out by our men in uniform on innocent civilians whom they ought to be protecting as a matter of responsibility”.
Albert Alalzuuga Akuka
He therefore called on President Akufo-Addo as the Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces to urgently intervene in the matter to restore peace and order within the communities that were affected by the military brutalities and attacks on Sunday, October 29 2023.
Mr Akuka also urged Parliament to immediately instigate a parliamentary probe into the actions of the military officers in Garu and Tempane to provide a comprehensive resolution to the matter.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu Constituency Alexander Afenyo-Markin urged the security agencies and officers to abide by the laws of the Ghana in the discharge of their mandate.
“It is good they sent them (arrestees) to court. Now they have access to counsel and it is within the ambit of the law”.
Alexander Afenyo-Markin
The military brutalities occurred in the early hours of Sunday, October 29, in retaliation for an earlier attack on national security officers deployed to the area on a counterterrorism operation by the residents of the communities.
Reports indicate that the locals within Garu and Tempane chased the five national security officers to the police station and besieged them until they were rescued by members of the Ghana Armed Forces.
According to the correspondence of the military that their raid on the communities was to recover the weapons and apprehend the offenders.
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