body-container-line-1

Defending The Criminal Shooting Of Suspects By The Police Will Promote Lynching With Impunity

By Africa Liberal Youth
Press Release Defending The Criminal Shooting Of Suspects By The Police Will Promote Lynching With Impunity
NOV 23, 2017 LISTEN

The Africa Liberal Youth has been monitoring with keen interest the professional conducts and misconducts of the members of the Ghana Police Service and how they are rewarded or punished by the Police Administration and or government.

These conducts are deemed the direct acts of government and affects the human rights profile of the government both locally and internationally.

We have had reasons to worry about these standards, especially with recent happenings in Sepe a suburb in Kumasi where two suspects were shot under questionable circumstances by personnel of the Ghana Police Service.

The deceased persons identified as Awudu Osman and Lukman Mohammed were shot and killed whiles in handcuffs and in the custody of the police at the time. In the case of Awudu Osman, the bullet hit his chest. Awudu’s pregnant wife has also complained that a day before her husband was killed, she was hit with the bar of the police AK 47 raffle when the police had an encounter with her in her home. The police had indeed escorted Awudu to his house to search for a pistol which they suspected would have been found in the house.

We find if very worrying the responses given by the Interior Minister on the floor of Parliament because such comments are totally inconsistent with:

1. Ghana’s motor – Freedom and Justice,

2. The Constitution which guarantees innocence until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, and

3. Democratic principles in general. The minister’s comments also promotes impunity as this is not the first time the Ghana Police Service has shot and killed suspected criminal under such questionable circumstances in Ghana.

In this particular case, the suspected criminals had been arrested and handcuffed by the police. They had assisted the police to go to their homes to search them for weapons without success. This is an indication of cooperation on the part of the deceased suspects. It is our considered view that a person in handcuffs under police supervision who tries to escape will not pose enough threat that would necessitate a shoot to kill from the police.

Per the story of the police and the interior minister, the suspects were trying to run away. Yet Awudu was shot on his chest. The question is, how can a man, running away from the police be shot on his

chest? This is a complete case for murder and we expect the police and the interior minister to apologise to the families and institute corrective measures to forestall similar incidences in the future.

Not too long ago. A military man was gruesomely murdered by members of the Denkyira Obuase community because they suspected him to be an armed rubber. In his case, we had the whole nation realise the mistake and mourned with his family.

WE from the Africa Liberal Youth believe that the killing of any suspected criminal by anyone also deserves that attention.

The constitution of Ghana demands that any suspected criminal be given a fair trial and if found guilty, punished. It is therefore wrong for any police officer under the guise of performing his duties to kill any suspected criminal. Once they do that, they usurp the authority of the courts and they must be brought to justice by the government and not shielded.

The police are leaders in every community. If the police continue to shoot and kill suspected criminals, the citizens will also continue to lynch and kill suspected criminal and the story of ‘Major Mahama’ will continue to happen to many innocent people. It could be anyone. You here reading, could just be the next victim of such unfortunate circumstances if we do not stand against the police on such unprofessional conduct.

We urge the interior minister, Hon. Ambrose Dery, to take a deep reflection of the facts and see for himself if the story of the police is believable. We urge him to initiate reforms that will make the Ghana Police Service a modernised service that is able to fight crime whiles protecting innocent lives and property.

Richard Amarh
Secretary General

body-container-line