AWW violence report: 'I was disappointed govt used provocation to free Mohammed Sulemana after slapping Sam George' — Totobi Quakyi
Ghana’s first Minister for National Security under the Fourth Republic, Kofi Totobi Quakyi, has criticised the government’s handling of some recommendations contained in the Justice Emile Short Commission of Inquiry report into the violence that characterised the 2019 Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency by-election.
Mr Totobi Quakyi said he was particularly disappointed by the decision not to prosecute an individual who assaulted then-Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George, during the disturbances.
Speaking on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, during discussions on the implementation of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999), he said the decision could undermine efforts to hold perpetrators of political violence accountable.
According to him, failing to act on some of the commission’s recommendations could create the impression that people involved in vigilantism and political violence could avoid prosecution under certain circumstances.
Mr Totobi Quakyi recalled that he personally wrote to the then President requesting the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate the violence that occurred during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.
“I wrote a letter to the President at the time and asked that the President might consider setting up a commission of inquiry to probe the Ayawaso-West-Wuogon by-election violence. I received a call from the Presidency, and I was asked if I would agree with the appointment of Emile Short as chairman of the commission of inquiry that I asked for, and I told the person that I had no opinion,” he said.
He said the subsequent announcement of the commission left him hoping that the government’s response was not merely a reaction to public pressure.
“That evening, the announcement came out, and I just hoped that it was not a knee-jerk reaction,” he added.
Mr Totobi Quakyi said he became disappointed after the commission submitted its report, particularly because some of its recommendations were not accepted.
“So I was a little disappointed when the Emile Short report came out. A number of the recommendations were not accepted. One particular recommendation was that the person who assaulted an MP would not be prosecuted and the reason was that the MP had engaged in a provocative act and so that cancelled the slap that he received and I thought that was unfortunate,” he said.
He warned that decisions of this nature could weaken efforts to deter political vigilantism by creating a perception that perpetrators may escape accountability because of political considerations or claims of provocation.
Mr Totobi Quakyi said stronger enforcement of Act 999 was necessary to prevent political violence from becoming normalised and to ensure that individuals who engage in vigilantism are held responsible for their actions.