Be respectful of men and women in uniform, it will help all of us – Defence Minister
The Minister of Defence Dominic Nitwul has appealed to all Ghanaians to respect the men and women in uniform.
This, he said, will help everyone in the country.
“I will appeal to the people of Ghana to be respectful of people in uniform, it will help all of us. I will not say anything else until we, the committee members, have gone on Thursday to the place and ascertained things for ourselves,” he told journalists in Parliament on Thursday, March 9 following the alleged murder of a soldier in Ashaiman.
Meanwhile, the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament says it will not be visiting Ashaiman any time soon over the brutalities meted out to civilian by the military following the killing of one of the,
According to the Chairman of the Committee, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, members do not want to go to the town and make statements that will rather inflame emotions.
“We as members of the Committee cannot inflame passions by going there to make comments that will annoy a faction. We are not to do that,” he told journalists at Parliament on Thursday, March 9.
3news.com‘s sources, however, say that the Committee would rather visit Ashaiman on Thursday, March 16 after investigations have been completed concerning the murder of a soldier and the subsequent storming of the area by the military.
The stabbing to death of the soldier on Saturday, March 4 provoked the military to launch an operation to fish out the perpetrators.
About 184 persons were arrested but most civilians in the town reported of brutalities by the army, whose action on Tuesday, March 7 is said to have been sanctioned by the Military High Command.
The Command has since apologised for the action but Mr Agyapong, who is also Member of Parliament for Assin Central Constituency, says they only want peace to prevail.
“Our mission is to make sure we have peace in this country. The unfortunate incident that happened, we have all condemned it and the Minister [of Defence] has even apologised on behalf of the military that they admit that there were excesses.”
The slain soldier, Imoro Sherrif, based in Sunyani but in Accra for a course, has since been buried at the Military Cemetery in Burma Camp.
At the funeral on Thursday, March 9, dad of the deceased Imoro Awudu said this is not how he dreamt of his life on earth.
“I had also said that I should die first for my children to bury me but now this has happened. I leave everything in the hands of God, God will cater for us,” he told TV3 during the burial of his late son.
Source: Graphic Online
