Kennedy Agyapong leads Committee to probe Wa brutalities
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior will today, Friday, July 16, 2021, commence a probe into military brutalities in the Upper West Regional Capital, Wa.
Members of the Committee chaired by Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, visited the town on Thursday. They first had a closed-door meeting with the Upper West Regional Minister, as well as members of the Upper West Regional Security Council.
The soldiers were seen in a viral video beating some residents of Wa, over claims that someone on a motorcycle had snatched a mobile phone belonging to one of them. Three of the soldiers have been demoted, while eight others have been charged, tried, and awarded 30 days each in detention by the disciplinary board of the Ghana Armed Forces, according to the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul.
The Defence and Interior Committee was authorised by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to probe the issue and report to the plenary for subsequent actions to be taken.
The Committee Chairman, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, coincidentally has a case before the Ashanti Regional Police Command, after he was reported by the Multimedia Group for allegedly threatening one of its journalists in Kumasi, by asking people to beat him up over his testimony before the Committee probing the Ejura disturbances.
Background
On Thursday, July 1, 2021, a video showing armed soldiers beating some residents of Wa on the street went viral. Some eyewitnesses who spoke to Citi News said the soldiers claimed they were searching for their stolen mobile phones.
A day after the incident, a team from the military, led by the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Thomas Oppong Peprah, visited the area and offered an apology to the people of Wa.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo also apologised for the acts of brutality.
Aside from the disciplinary action from the military, the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament has also been directed to probe the incident after a vehement plea from the Minority side in Parliament.
