POLICE IN the Ashanti Region acted with “gratuitous force” in the shooting incident that occurred at the Islamic Senior High School in Kumasi, Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Interior has stated.
The service came under intense criticism after over 20 students from the school were hospitalized after police attempted to disperse them during a protest on June 13, 2022.
The committee, in a report presented to Parliament yesterday, indicated that the police action was inappropriate, considering the situation and the fact that the demonstrators were young students.
“Following the statement made by the Member of Parliament for Asawase and Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, on the police shooting incident that occurred at the Islamic Senior High School, Abrepo Junction, Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region on Monday, June 13, 2022, Mr. Speaker referred the matter to the Committee on Defence and Interior.
“It was understandable that they would be enraged, especially seeing some of them getting injured,” the report, presented by Chairman of the Committee, Kennedy Agyapong, noted.
It indicated, however, that “the committee believes that the police acted excessively, and used ammunition such as live bullets, rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray which were dangerous and potentially placed the lives of many students at risk.”
The committee recommended that the police should be trained regularly to deal with demonstrations that involve relatively younger people such as students.
“The committee, furthermore, concludes that the Ghana Police Service lacks the appropriate logistics to enable the service respond promptly to challenges of crowd control, and the ability of the service to avoid conflict of interest on its part, in conducting fair investigations,” it added.
It again recommended that the Ministry of Education should provide the school with more basic amenities such as classrooms, a big auditorium, dormitories, residential facilities for teachers, as well as well-equipped laboratories, among others, to address the challenges in the school.
The report pointed out that the committee, after thorough deliberation, concluded that the student population in the Islamic Senior High School was so high that amenities and existing infrastructure were not commensurate with the student population.
“With only seven resident teachers managing about 3,000 boarding students, this creates a huge disparity which makes it difficult to maintain order on campus,” the report said.
The committee also requested that the Ministry of Roads and Highways, as a matter of urgency, should provide pedestrian crossing and speed ramps to ensure safe usage of the road by both motorists and pedestrians.
Sanction
It also wants the Regional Director of the Department of Urban Roads in the Ashanti Region to be sanctioned for failing to provide pedestrian crossing and speed ramps on that stretch of the road, despite several letters sent to him in that regard.
The committee also recommended to Parliament to set up a bi-partisan committee to further investigate the matter, even though it acknowledged that the Ghana Police Service took the initiative to visit the injured students at the various hospitals.
“The committee extended its sympathies and commendation to the Ghana Police Service in general for visiting the injured students,” the report said, and added that “the committee recommends that the seven officers who sustained various injuries on their body such as their forehead, legs, and fingers should be provided with the needed medical attention.”
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