Former President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday met with a section of the diplomatic community in Ghana to brief them on what he described as the sad developments of January 31 during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.
According to Mr. Mahama the incidents of that day were criminal and the culprits must be prosecuted and punished.
Speaking at a meeting at Peduase, in the Eastern region of Ghana, the flagbearer aspirant of the opposition National Democratic Congress, (NDC), said the Emile Short Commission that was set up by Vice President Dr. Bawumia will end nowhere.
He questioned the need for a Commission of Inquiry by the government to probe the by-election violence.
Questioning the validity of evidence gathered by other Commissions in the past, Mr. Mahama said the state should have treated the events of Ayawaso West Wuogon as a criminal matter and handed over to the police for investigations.
“It is my belief that the President [Nana Akufo-Addo] would have known what security arrangements were being made [during the by-election]. These are all issues that have come up. We believe that this is a straight criminal case and the people involved, many of them have been identified and the Police should have invited them, taken their statements and started their investigation. Instead, they have decided to set up a Commission of Inquiry.”
“We all know what happens when Commissions of Inquiries are set up. The main usefulness of a Commission of Inquiry is to bring out the facts and put in place measures to ensure that such a thing does not happen again but it is not the most convenient way for sanctioning criminal conduct.”
Present at the meeting were the NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia and Ningo Prampram MP, Sam George.
Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia , acting in the stead of President Nana Addo Dankwa Addo-Addo, on Wednesday set up a Commission of Inquiry to look into the election violence that saw masked men supposedly national security personnel unleash violence on some citizens.
The members include; the former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Justice Emile Short, who chairs the commission, a distinguished law professor of international repute, Mrs. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, a former Inspector-General of Police, Patrick K. Acheampong and a private legal practitioner, Ernest Kofi Abotsi, as the Commission’s Secretary.
The commission has been given one month to complete its work.
Newsdesk report by Ruth Abla Adjorlolo
