“Compensate those who were wrongly beaten in Ashaiman” – John Mahama

Former president John Dramani Mahama is requesting “commensurate compensation” for Ashaiman citizens who were detained and subjected to torture by soldiers who  were looking for the people who killed a colleague.

On March 8, 2023, Mr. Mahama posted on his Facebook page, denouncing the horrible murder of Trooper Imoro Sherrif, a young military officer who was allegedly stabbed in the town on March 4, 2023, and offering his sympathies to the grieving family.

“I am deeply saddened by the death of one of our soldiers, at such a young age, in Ashaiman. Lordina and I extend our deepest condolences to his bereaved and grieving family, and the officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces. As your former Commander in Chief, I do appreciate how such unexpected deaths affect the Force,” he wrote on Facebook.

He continued by condemning the brutality that was used against the Ashaiman community and its invasion, claiming that many of its members could be innocent bystanders who were unaware of the soldier’s death.

“There are obviously many people who live and work in Ashaiman who are innocent of this heinous crime. The military must, therefore, refrain from meting out extra-judicial justice to them.”

In order to calm the situation and subsequently offer “commensurate recompense for all those impacted,” he demanded prompt action from the government and state institutions.

On Tuesday, soldiers broke into Ashaiman residents’ houses after a widespread, severe downpour that caused flooding in several areas of Accra and claimed some lives. Soldiers brutally attacked the locals while military helicopters hovered over the region in an effort to find the killers of the young military man.

Analysts have reacted to the incident and condemned the operation, stating that while the soldier’s murder was savage, only the police and not the military are authorized by law to carry out such operations.

Source: Pulse Ghana