Security is another critical component of conducting a successful election. While the duty primarily lies with the security agencies with the Ghana police service leading, the command and control of such operations lies within the purview of the Government working in consultation with the Electoral Commission.
The previous election of 2020 was rife with accusations of voter suppression. Opposition strongholds experienced massive deployment of soldiers relative to the stationing of police officers to the government support base.
The increasing resort to military force in any security situation, be it minor, is alarming, and a few political actors, democracy observers, and stakeholders has expressed some reservations in that regard. A major concern also is the use of military intervention in chieftaincy disputes in the Northern Region; has this become the new norm for addressing disputes and other security situations in the country?
The reported clash and gun dwell in Karaga between residents and the military begs for answers.
Karaga Army raid and clashes
The involvement of the military in a firefight and clashes with some youths of Karaga in the Northern Region over a Chieftaincy dispute is a very worrisome development. With one fatality and three others critically injured, should the growing utilization of the Military in domestic roles or general duties that can be considered policing functions be countenanced?
The overlord of Dagbon, Yaa Naa Mahamadu Abukari II installed Mahami Natogmah as the rightful Chief of Kagara.
However, the immediate past regent defied the proclamation and maintained his claim of “legitimacy”. it was the attempt to whisk the recalcitrant “pretender” to the throne out of town that resulted in the clashes.
This practice of military deployment to the slightest provocation calls for concern. The country has witnessed the damning consequences of it in Ejura and many other incidents in the past. Moreover, it is an election year, and security matters for the credibility of the polls.
Chieftaincy disputes and resolution
Despite the difficulty in pinpointing the immediate cause of the clashes, it appears that the deployment of the military to ‘abduct’ the chief of the town started the clashes. With the benefit of hindsight, The raid was poorly thought out and wrongly executed on poor intelligence.
It could have angered the youth thus resulting in the gun dwell.
Moreso, shouldn’t one question this government’s rationale for increasing militarization of chieftaincy disputes and issues in the northern parts of the country?
It can be recalled that earlier in February of 2023, a similar attempt was carried out in Mamprugu to “kidnap” the overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional Area about the Bawku conflict. In a similar fate, it ended in a fiasco prompting the traditional area to publicly demand an apology from the government in a press statement saying,
“We call for an unconditional apology and a public withdrawal of the statement issued by the Minister for Information. The government is to give recognition to whoever it pleases. What matters to us is who our enskinned authorities recognize.”
Mamprugu Traditional Council
One would have thought that the embarrassment should have taught the government a lesson, but it appears not.
Previous Incidents
Often than not, it is not uncommon to have a joint patrol of the Army and Police team in Ghana on duty. It raised a few concerns in the past. With the restoration of democracy in the early 90’s, many felt that the days of ubiquitous military patrols and heavy-handed response to slight security challenges are over, but no If anything at all, events of the past have demonstrated how wrong and punitive such measures are.
The Ejura incident where soldiers were captured on camera shooting indiscriminately and others squatting to aim for a war situation alarmed Ghanaians. Further, the failure of the commission of inquiry to identify who specifically gave the others for the military deployment worried security experts and some former officers in the military. Arguing that military training isn’t suitable for policing duty, these experts lamented the situation and called for a stop to it. Speaking at the time, according to professor Kwesi Aning of Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center, “The Ejura issue is just symptomatic of a broader problem with the use of law enforcement, gun usage, command, and control.” He further added,
“I am more interested in the processes and mechanisms and decision-making, how the assessments were done regarding threats and response leading to the military appearance followed by the police at the scene. They see an enemy, and they want to feed on that enemy in dealing with the crisis.”
Prof. Kwesi Aning
As the date nears, the stakes get higher in this impending election, and despite the heightened concern over security and possible violence, the Ghanaian security service must be trusted and encouraged to a yeoman’s job they are known for. Ghana cannot afford to get it wrong, Africa is watching with keen eyes.
