The Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency's parliamentary by-election on January 31, 2019, was marked by violence, according to Bryan Acheampong, a former minister of state at the National Security Ministry, who said it was his downfall.
Ayawaso has been my waterloo, Mr. Chairman. Someone has been wrongfully held accountable for something they have no knowledge of while carrying out a state-mandated task, he continued.
As he came before the Appointments Committee of Parliament in Accra on Monday for vetting, Bryan Acheampong, the Minister-Designate for Food and Agriculture, said this.
"...I must also say that the violence in Ayawaso is a stain on our democracy, and we hope it never happens again. I feel sorry for those who were hurt.
According to him, the government made sure that the injured were treated at the 37 Military Hospital and that the state covered their medical expenses.
Bryan Acheampong claimed to have read the whole over 500-page report of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Commission of Inquiry and found no reference of his name being implicated in any wrongdoing.
He said that according to the report, members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit were sent out on assignment under the supervision of DSP Samuel Azugu, the Director of Operations of the National Security Secretariat, and the Minister of State at the Ministry of National Security.
He acknowledged that he was in charge of the SWAT Team while serving as the Minister of State for National Security at the time.
"So, where does it end if the findings were that the individuals were dispatched to Ayawaso under the supervision of a police officer, who in turn was under the supervision of the director of operations, who in turn was under the supervision of the minister of state at the ministry of national security, who in turn was under the supervision of a minister of national security, and so on and so forth?" Acheampong asked a question.
Why did they decide to end it at my door? not participating in the operation or the command on that particular day.
No proof was provided for that.
He said that although the Commission did not recommend his prosecution because there was no evidence to justify it, doing so would have subjected him to personal culpability.
The candidate stated, "The Commission recommends that Mr Bryan Acheampong be censured for his ultimate duty as Minister in authorising an operation of such sort on a day of the election in a built-up region.
Even in the improbable scenario that I was the Minister of State and authorized that operation, I am being asked to be reprimanded for something that is not a crime, Mr. Chairman.
The First Deputy Speaker and head of the appointment committee, Mr. Joseph Osei-Owusu, questioned the minister-designate about whether he had given permission for the action.
"Mr. Chairman, I did not authorize the action," said Acheampong. Because of this, it was simple for the government's white paper to claim that the proposals were rejected because they lacked foundation.
He said, "Now we no longer hear about vigilantism in the same manner that we used to hear about it in the past," after noting that the House had approved the measure to handle political vigilantism in response to the terrible occurrence.
He acknowledged that the by-violent election's nature was regrettable, but said, "Where the culpability is being put is where I think it is misdirected."
No one was killed in the violence, the candidate assured the House.
The Minister-Designate spoke on agriculture and food production, claiming that Ghana was self-sufficient in this area.
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