OF CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT

Not surprisingly, our front page report of Monday, July 7, about the alleged 'cruel and unusual punishment' meted out to some offending commercial drivers by some guards of the '37' Military Hospital, has become a national talking point.

The military guards allegedly punished some commercial drivers and their mates who flouted traffic regulations in front of the hospital by detaining them in the hospital mortuary and also forcing them to handle corpses and mop the floor.

Furthermore, the victims were reportedly not given any protective clothing for the mortuary work.

Apart from the sheer horror of anybody being forced to work in a mortuary, it is hard to understand why this should be seen as appropriate punishment for traffic offences.

We do appreciate the frustration of trying to ensure that the hospital's entrance is kept clear at all times, especially for ambulances, and other emergencies. But whoever dreamt up this punishment, even if it was meant as shock therapy to serve as a strong deterrent, it was not appropriate.

For some people, the disturbing episode no doubt also brings back ugly memories of the days of military brutality that were so graphically relived by some witnesses at the National Reconciliation Commission.

As we reported yesterday, the Military Hospital authorities are setting up a board of enquiry into the matter, following a directive from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) so that appropriate disciplinary action can be taken against those found guilty.

For its part, the leadership of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union has promised to get its affected members to cooperate with the investigation.

We commend the GAF and the hospital authorities for the swift response to the problem. And we commend especially the Commander of the hospital, Brigadier-General Jaswant Wadhwani for his very astute handling of the matter when it was reported to him.

Very often in situations such as the episode under discussion, the tendency is for those in charge to be defensive and close ranks. Most of them would prefer to blame the messenger for unearthing the problem, instead of using it as an opportunity to solve the problem brought to their notice.

Our understanding is that some of the victims of the punishment have spoken about their ordeal on some radio stations. We hope that, similarly, they will be willing to give evidence to the enquiry so that the hospital can establish what happened and who should be disciplined.

Fortunately, the leadership of the GPRTU has promised that its members who were victims of the cruelty will cooperate with the Enquiry.

We urge the GPRTU to ensure that the victims don't chicken out at the last minute and run away or refuse to give evidence – as has been known to happen in this country.

The Ghanaian Times has done its duty and met its social responsibility by reporting the arbitrary detention and cruelty. The military and the hospital are doing their part by seeking to obtain the facts through a board of enquiry.

It is now up to the victims to cooperate with the investigation so that the hospital authorities can ascertain the facts and discipline those found culpable.

And we believe that the GPRTU will also take a cue from this matter to get its members to understand the importance of traffic regulations, as well as the need to maintain order on the roads.