The Justice Emile Short Commission has recommended that Mr. Bryan Acheampong be reprimanded for his ultimate responsibility as Minister in authorizing an operation on a day of an election in a built-up area.
The Commission, which was chaired by the former head of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Francis Emile Short, made several other recommendations for which it expects the government to act upon.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
1. STRUCTURAL
1.1. The Commission recommends that the president should review and restructure the Ministry of National Security establishment with a view to ensuring clarity of responsibilities and roles as well as lines of reporting.
1.2. The Commission recommends the establishment of a standing command and control center tasked inter alia with the role of assessing and processing intelligence for rapid deployment. This center will incorporate key officers of allied internal security agencies, including the police, military, national security, fire service, customs etc.
1.3. The Minister of State appointed at the presidency to the Ministry of National Security should have a clearly delineated role with responsibilities indexed to that of substantive sector minister. This should establish a clear chain of command and the circumstances under which he or she can act in the absence of the substantive Minister.
2. OPERATIONAL
2.1. It is recommended that as a matter of urgency, the police and national security establishment develop protocols for the assessment and rating of intelligence received; and subsequent deployment of missions, if any.
2.2. The Commission recommends that no masked or hooded men should be used for civilian policing, especially in electoral policing or the execution of intelligence contingent on, or connected with, any ongoing elections in Ghana.
2.3. The Commission recommends that SWAT teams and police officers deployed to maintain the peace and order on electoral grounds must have rigorous training in crowd control, arrests and perimeter security for both the ongoing electoral exercises and for any allied security issues that may emerge in an ancillary fashion.
2.4. The Commission recommends that standard rules and procedures for the issuance of weapons and ammunition to police officers and operatives of the national security who are sent on missions and accompanying rules of accountability for these weapons and ammunition should be enforced.
2.5. The Commission recommends that intelligence-based agencies should operate under the law and be guided by the fundamental human rights of citizens. In this vein, the Commission also recommends that operatives of the National Security Council should be trained to internalize human rights rules including the provisions on the fundamental human rights of the Constitution within their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
2.6. The Commission recommends strict adherence to the rules on searches and seizures, especially as regards to respect for the privacy of the citizen. Consequently, the Commission recommends that a ministerial directive be issued reminding all state operatives of the need to respect the citizen’s privacy except as authorized by judicial orders.
2.7. The Commission recommends that the SWAT team of the National Security Council Secretariat should be disbanded and operatives be reassigned as appropriate.
2.8. The Commission further recommends that support for special operations should be sought from the specialized units of the police directly as and when necessary.
2.9. The Commission recommends intelligence sharing between relevant agencies where an operation would entail or necessitate inter-agency cooperation, such as the operation that has formed the subject of this inquiry. The police should be better resourced so that they can maintain active communication during the entirety of operations. Providing equipment to only the leaders of an operation who cannot be everywhere at once leaves the flank unprotected and this would not inspire confidence in any of them.
3. INDIVIDUAL LIABILITIES
3.1. The Commission recommends the criminal prosecution of Mr. Ernest Akomea alias ‘Double’ for the unauthorized possession of firearms under section 192(1) of the Criminal Offences Act.
3.2. The Commission recommends the criminal prosecution for the offence of assault, to wit, the slapping of Mr. Samuel George by Mohammed Sulemana.
3.3. The Commission recommends the immediate removal of DSP Samuel Kojo Azugu from command responsibility at the Ministry of National Security given his failure to appropriately command and control the SWAT team of which he had charge during the operation at the La Bawaleshie school polling station. It is recommended that he should be reassigned by the IGP.
3.4. The Commission recommends the reprimand of Colonel Mike Opoku, for being ultimately responsible for the outcome of the SWAT operation at the La Bawaleshie School Polling Station. His liability is further reinforced by his failure to properly define the mission for which the SWAT team was sent and ensuring that the SWAT team complied with the defined mission. Further, he failed to conduct and internal inquiry into identifying the culprits of the offence when revelations became rife that there were operational lapses resulting in violations of human rights.
3.5. It is further recommended, that Col. Opoku be made to immediately release the weapons used for, as well as the persons involved in, the operation to enable ballistic testing and analysis to be undertaken and for further investigations by the police.
3.6. The Commission recommends that Mr. Bryan Acheampong be reprimanded for his ultimate responsibility as Minister in authorizing an operation of that character on a day of an election in a built-up area.
4. COMPENSATIONS
4.1. The Commission recommends the payment of financial compensation to the following persons on the basis of injuries sustained by them arising out of the reckless gunshots by the SWAT team, and that is to say :
1. Mr. Theophilus Sedofu
2. Seidu Zaneh
3.James Moore
4. Mohammed Alhassan
5. Ishawu Yaro
4.2. The Commission recommends payment of compensation to the following persons for damage caused to their properties.
a. Owner of vehicle (model unknown) with registration number GE 3844-17.
b. Owner of Kia Picanto vehicle with registration number GW 1045-17.
c. Mrs. Justine She, Owner of beauty salon bordering the road.
5. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1. The commission recommends that the structure of reporting within the national security set up needs to be revised. It is recommended that the National Security Coordinator be elevated to the first level of being reported to by subordinate security officers.
5.2. The Commission recommends that the roles and responsibilities within the set-up be streamlined and clarified.
5.3. The Commission recommends that the police should review their recruitment procedures and install merit-based criteria to ensure that the most qualified, and not the most well-connected, persons are enlisted.
5.4. The Commission recommends the immediate criminalization of the establishment and/or funding and other support for militia organizations in Ghana.
5.5. The Commission recommends the opening of a criminal investigation into the circulation of posters of certain persons who may have taken part in the botched exercise in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency as part of the SWAT team and the said perpetrators bought to book.
5.6. The Commission recommends for the consideration of the Medical and Dental Council to remind their members to comply with the legal duty to endorse police forms issued in respect of victims to whom they may have provided services –the subject of ongoing criminal investigations.
5.7. The urges, for the consideration of the Electoral Commission, that the EC should explore the possibility of resorting to electronic voting or some other method which does not depend on physical ballot boxes.
5.8. The Commission recommends that the Police should mount public education on crime –scene management to ensure that the public would avoid interfering with crime scenes and thereby protect the integrity of evidence for future prosecution.
5.9. The Commission recommends that an independent Police Complaints Commission based outside the Police structure should be established to deal with complaints from the public on the conduct of Police officers and so promote police accountability.
5.10. The Commission recommends that there should be a multi-stage process to enable all aspects of the problem of party associated militias and vigilantes to be appropriately explored.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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Bryan Acheampong is a common crimi.nal and should be booted out of the seat of government. His godfather, Brig(rtd) Otchere should resign his post in shame.
THIS RECOMMENDATION IS TRASH DID THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE TIME TO LISTENING TO OFOSU AMPOF'S AUDION TAPE AND EVERYTHING HE SAID ON THAT TAPE IS HAPPENING NOW WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT REPRIMAND HON. BYAN ACHEAMPONG NEVER IF NOT BECAUSE OF THIS BRILLIANT SWAT TEAM NDC SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE COUNTRY INTO RANSOM.
Who cares about their status ? wisdom is the Supreme going to school with all those degrees doesn't mean wisdom. I'm talking of wisdom not degrees. King Solomon didn't have any degree but was able to rule with wisdom these people would have listened to the other woman who wanted the child killed. That is what I'm talking about ! those guys went there to cause trouble and they are left off the hook and those who went in to protect life and property must be punished is this sensible law? why didn't they recommend for those kriminals also to be punished to serve as a deterrent to others but left to go untouched and to be compensated! that is nons*ense to me. The report is biased it has emboldened the kriminals who misbehave during election time. I'm for the Ghanaian people not any group did they think of the Ghanaian people before arriving at that bogus thing? Ghana first ! why were they there? who sent them there and for what? the commission should tell us if they were voters of that constituency if not what was their mission there? did they take the trouble to ask those questions or they just listened to who did what ! it was a bogus thing the government set up and I don't know if they got paid if they did then we've caused financial loss to the state ! They didn't do nothing to help Ghana but emboldened kriminals to misbehave during election time !
@ Me Man Nti, so this all what you can say? Our country is heading the wrong direction. The government is just saying that a whole Criminal Law Lecturer, a whole Judge & a Former IGP do not comprehensible brains to understand simple Terms of Reference given them. As for the President, his clearance of errant persons of his party goes on. Another one has been cleared. This time around no one should tell us it was State Institution that made the clearance. Well, we live to see.
This report shows that commission has emboldened the ndc to send their kriminals to polling stations to misbehave is that what they are telling us? did they take the trouble even to ask why those guys were there? this nons*ense ! the st*upidity of the ndc is so infectious that it has affected most Ghanaians to behave like they don't have brains! the kriminals should be compensated? are we all right in Ghana? the commission was bogus and was like they were there for those kriminals who were imported to go there and cause mayhem and kill Ghanaians what nons*ense is this? if really this is what the report says then it must be discarded because it didn't protect the Ghanaian people but the kriminals no wonder Ghanaians have no confidence in the police because they protect the kriminals instead of the people and this commission has proved them right. I didn't even hear them asking why they went there but we're all out to crucify the national security who did a good work to protect Ghanaian voters. I still support the National security for that bravery !