By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
A report by Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee has exposed the lies told by the Ghana Police Service about the riots which occurred at the Islamic Senior High School (SHS) in the Ashanti Region on June 13, 2022.
Some 25 students of Islamic SHS were hospitalised after Police opened tear gas on them while they were protesting frequent crashes of pedestrians in front of the School on June 13, 2022.
The angry students massed up on the road in protest, at what they described as the daily knockdown of students and called for the construction of speed ramps on that section of the road but some officers from the Ghana Police Service went hard on them.
The issue was raised on the floor of Parliament and subsequently, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin tasked the Defence Committee to probe the incident and report to the plenary for further action to be taken.
A fact-finding mission by members of the committee has revealed that officials of the Ghana Police Service gave a false narrative of the circumstances leading to the riots that happened at the Islamic SHS.
According to a report by the Defence and Interior Committee which was presented to the August House on Thursday, July 21, 2022, there were genuine concerns over the credibility of the Police Service’s version of events on the day and recommended the House sets up a bipartisan committee to probe further.
Presenting the report, Chairman of the Committee, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, said when they engaged the police at the centre of the incident, they realized the inspector was not forthcoming with his answers.
“When I was asking questions I realized the Inspector was reluctant. I asked several times, did you the police officers enter the campus, and they all said no. We couldn’t probe further, however, as the referral had a limit. So we ended there when we realized they were not telling us the truth and were not giving us the whole picture.”
“That is why we came back asking the Speaker to set up a bipartisan committee and give them another opportunity to investigate further so they can question the police very well.”
The Assin Central MP also disclosed the Committee was tasked to consider compensation but noted the Speaker’s referral was not limited only to the Islamic SHS but goes back to 1992, which makes it a bit daunting.
He, however, assured them they have started something, which could provide a basis for further work on these matters.
According to him, 38 students were injured in the incident and the condition of one was so serious that she still finds it difficult to breathe adding, “And they didn’t have money so I gave her GH¢5,000 to go to the hospital for further check-up.”
The Committee, he said, cannot, however, determine the amount of compensation to be given to the affected individuals.
The report also recommended the Urban Roads Director in the Region be relieved of his post because evidence showed the Headteacher of the school had been officially complaining about the situation since 2012 with the latest letter being delivered in September 2021.
According to him, the current Director may not have been in office when the school started petitioning the authorities but stressed that is why the Committee recommended the Director who was in office as of September 5, 2021, be sanctioned.
