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Tag: Ghana Armed Forces

  • Akufo-Addo engages Ghanaian peacekeeping troops in Guinea-Bissau

    Akufo-Addo engages Ghanaian peacekeeping troops in Guinea-Bissau

    President Akufo-Addo has paid a visit to Ghanaian troops operating on peacekeeping duty in Guinea-Bissau in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

    The president was accompanied by the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo. President Akufo-Addo visited the Ghana Company (GHANCOY 1), which is part of the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau (ESSMGB).

    The visit took place on Monday, May 15, 2023, as part of President Akufo-Addo’s official two-day state visit to Guinea-Bissau, following an invitation from President Embalo.

    The primary purpose of the visit was for the Commander-in-Chief to meet with the ESSMGB-GHANCOY 1 and personally assess the well-being of the troops and their effectiveness in carrying out their mission since their deployment to the operational area in June 2022.

    During the visit, several activities were conducted, including a guard of honour, a parade display by GHANCOY 1, and the mounting of a special Presidential Quarter Guard in honor of President Akufo-Addo.

    The President also toured the camp, interacted with Ghanaian troops, and commissioned a project undertaken by GHANCOY.

    Welcoming the Presidents, Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) David Korsah, the Combat Team Commander of ESSMGB GHANCOY 1, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the entire Ghanaian Contingent. Lt Col. Korsah described the visit as historic and memorable for three reasons.

    Firstly, he highlighted that the visit demonstrated President Akufo-Addo’s unwavering commitment to constitutional democracy in Africa, as evidenced by his track record.

    Secondly, he added that it showcased the President’s confidence in the GAF hierarchy and personnel.

    Lastly, he maintained that it marked the first time in approximately 28 years that a Ghanaian President has visited GAF troops engaged in an external operation.

    Lt Col. Korsah assured President Akufo-Addo that he and his troops would continue to proudly represent Ghana, enhance the country’s image, and serve as worthy ambassadors.

    President Akufo-Addo, on the other hand, commended the contingent for their discipline and professionalism, assuring them of his full support. At the conclusion of his speech, the President made a donation to the contingent.

    The president also commissioned a newly constructed accommodation and office building named after the Chief of Defence Staff Seth Amoama “AMOAMA BLOCK” in honor of the Vice Admiral, who played a crucial role in securing funds for the project.

    Notable attendees at the visit included Professor Hamidou Boly, Special Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission (SRPC), Brigadier General AM Grema, ESSMGB Force Commander, and Colonel ATM Kore, Deputy Force Commander.

    The visit underscored President Akufo-Addo’s support for the troops and his dedication to maintaining peace and stability in the region.

  • ECG and Ghana Armed Forces collaborate to repair Somanya roads

    ECG and Ghana Armed Forces collaborate to repair Somanya roads

    As part of ECG’s corporate social responsibility, the management of the Krobo District branch of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has restored some of the roads in the Somanya township in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region in partnership with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

    The workers of ECG, the GAF and the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly, led by the municipal chief executive (MCE), Eric Tetteh, and the acting Krobo District Manager of ECG, Christopher Apawu, worked on the roads at Djaba through Akweteman, both in the Somanya township.

    They filled the portholes that were creating major problems for road users.

    The Tema Region ECG Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mary Sakyiwa Mensah, who spoke to the media on behalf of the company after the work, stressed the need for roads to be maintained periodically to be more motorable, due to their usefulness to society in general, adding, “without good roads, we all suffer the consequences”.

    Cordial relationship

    She said the issue that came up last year between the company and the customers in the Krobo area had been resolved and there was, therefore, a cordial relationship existing between the company and its Krobo customers as the prepaid meters were installed for the customers.

    She explained that currently, arrangements were being made for customers who did not get the prepaid meters to be served.

    She was grateful to all the players, including the Energy Minister, the Energy Ministry, the Ghana Armed Forces, traditional authorities from both Yilo and Manya Krobo, the religious leaders, the ECG Management from the national, the region and the Krobo District, as well as the media, for various the roles they played to bring the issue to an end during the crisis.

    The MCE of Yilo Krobo, Eric Tetteh, who fully participated in the event, was full of excitement for seeing the military and the ECG workers, as well as some of the assembly workers, working together on the road.

    Political game

    He explained that during the power crisis in the Krobo area, the citizens saw the military as people who were in to beat and brutalise them, adding: “Today, the same military persons are helping to fix our road, which is the source of my excitement”.      

    He lauded the ECG for sponsoring the activity which face-lifted the road in the area and added colour to the May Day event in the municipality.

    Payment for power

    Mr Tetteh said the power that ECG supplied to the customers anywhere in Ghana was bought from energy producers and he, therefore, advised the customers to ensure they paid for the power they consumed for the company to be in good business.  

    The MCE, however, pleaded with ECG to reduce the cost of extra meters that it was supplying to the customers in the area for them to afford the payment.

  • GAF’s Chief of Army Staff pays working visit to Obuasi mine

    GAF’s Chief of Army Staff pays working visit to Obuasi mine

    The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) Chief of Army Staff paid a working visit at AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi mine.

    The goal of the tour was for Major-General Oppong-Peprah to become acquainted with mine operations and mining security challenges.

    He arrived with a team of high-ranking military officers and was greeted by Eric Asubonteng, Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti (Ghana) Limited, and his leadership team.

    Mr Asubonteng expressed his gratitude in his welcome remarks for the vital contribution made in combating unlawful mining at the Obuasi mine.

    “The increasing aggression of armed illegal miners is a major challenge for the Obuasi mine. As such, we appreciate the support of the government of Ghana in ensuring the safety and security of our employees, host communities and assets,” Mr Asubonteng stated.

    Major-General Oppong-Peprah thanked and appreciated the Obuasi mine for its years of assistance and cooperation.

    He reaffirmed Ghana’s Public Security Agencies’ ongoing commitment to defending the Obuasi mine from security concerns, stressing extensive discussions to construct a Forward Operating Base in Obuasi to help maintain peace and order.

    The Forward Operating Base is intended to aid in the fight against illegal mining and related criminal activities.

    Illegal mining and associated activities present safety risks to illegal miners, socio-economic and environmental risks to the company’s host communities, as well as a significant threat to AngloGold Ashanti’s operations at the Obuasi mine.

    The Chief of Army Staff and his team were given a tour of the mine’s operations and illegal mining hotspots within the concession.

    In response to a request by the mine for enhanced support to protect its concessions, four new military vehicles were unveiled to strengthen patrol effectiveness within the mine’s operational areas.

  • ‘Ignorant allegations’ -Lawyer slams GAF over caution on use of military rank

    ‘Ignorant allegations’ -Lawyer slams GAF over caution on use of military rank

    Former Captain of the Ghana Armed Forces, lawyer Jamaldeen Tonzua Seidu has denied allegations made by the Ghana Armed Forces, stating that he has never used his military rank in his civilian life.

    The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recently cautioned him via a press statement against presenting himself as a retired captain or ex-captain of the army.

    The GAF stated that they had noticed the unauthorized use of military rank by the lawyer, who had been referring to himself as “Captain Retired” or “Ex-Captain” in relation to his political ambitions and media appearances.

    However, in a press statement, the lawyer explained that “The statement falsely and misguidedly alleges that I have used my military rank in my civilian life. Under the circumstances, I am compelled to issue this public statement to deny the uninformed, misguided, and ignorance-laden allegation of the Ghana Armed Forces that I have used my military rank in media appearances. I have not, on any occasion, whether public or private, addressed myself or caused myself to be introduced as Captain Jamal Tonzua,” 3news.com quoted the lawyer to have said.

    He further expressed his concern about the GAF’s disclosure of private information regarding his period of service, deeming it a flagrant violation of the law that should not be repeated.

    He added that his dedication to strengthening the democratic control, accountability, and integrity of the Ghana Armed Forces remains his priority.

  • Too many lawsuits force 37 Military Hospital to set up Quality Management Committee

    Too many lawsuits force 37 Military Hospital to set up Quality Management Committee

    The Military High Command has established a 12-member Quality Management Committee to supervise services provided at the 37 Military Hospital.

    The formation of the Committee according to the Chief of Defense Staff is due to the numerous lawsuits against the hospital.

    Inaugurating the Committee, Chief of Defense Staff, Vice Admiral Seth Amoama said the public is losing confidence in the Hospital.

    “In recent years, we have witnessed a number of complaints from the public about the quality of service some leading to avoidable loss of lives and its resultant loss of public confidence in the Ghana Armed Forces services and its facilities”.

    “To forestall this trend and revive public confidence in the Ghana Armed Forces medical services, the military high command saw it imperative to set up a committee to promote quality assurance for the improvement of quality of care at the Ghana Armed Forces medical facility.”

    The Hospital in recent years has suffered several lawsuits due to medical negligence. In July 2021 the family of a patient, Solomon Asare-Kumah, who died after being admitted at the 37 Military Hospital at age 48, sued management of the facility over alleged medical negligence.

    The Court in July 2021 also slapped an amount of GH¢1,075,000, in damages, on the 37 Military Hospital for the negligence it caused the bereaved family of a 27-year-old woman during childbirth in November 2015.

  • Tarkwa: Over 20,000 illicit explosives seized by GAF

    Tarkwa: Over 20,000 illicit explosives seized by GAF

    On Saturday, April 15, 2023, members of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) discovered roughly 10,000 kg of ammonium nitrate and over 20,000 pieces of dynamite-like explosive charges that had been made from the substance.

    Most of the ammonium nitrate was concealed in flour and rice sacks.

    The ammonium nitrate and explosives were seized during a military operation led by personnel of the 2nd Infantry Battalion at the premises of Mohammed Brothers Company Limited and Dakete Mines in Tarkwa.

    The operation was premised on detailed intelligence aimed at clamping down on the manufacture, sale, and use of illegal dynamite in parts of the country, especially mining areas.

    13 people made up of 8 Chinese, 3 Togolese, an Ivorian, and a Nigerian were arrested during the operation.

  • Ashaiman murder: Suspect appeals to judge to provide more food

    Ashaiman murder: Suspect appeals to judge to provide more food

    A key suspect in the murder of Trooper Imoro Sherrif has stated before the Ashaiman Circuit Court, presided over by Simon J. Gaga, that he is being starved while being held by the police.

    Samuel Tetteh alias Wiper is standing trial together with five others for their various roles in the alleged murder of Sheriff Imoro who was a junior soldier in the Ghana Armed Forces.

    Appearing in court on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, lawyers for the accused persons impressed on the judge to grant their clients bail.

    Following a lengthy argument between the prosecution and the defence, the third accused person, Ibrahim Abdul Rakib was granted bail in the sum of GH₵150,000 with three sureties, two to be justified with landed properties on health grounds.

    The remaining suspects, however, were denied bail.

    According to a report by Dailyguidenetork.com sighted by GhanaWeb, Samuel Tetteh before the judge would rule on the bail application raised his hands and with the permission of the judge told the court that he is not being fed enough in custody.

    The court after ruling on the bail application further directed the police to take good care of the suspects while they are in custody to ensure that they are fit and healthy to stand trial.

    Samuel Tetteh and Abubakar Saddick alias Birdman who are the two main suspects in the case are on trial for conspiracy to commit crime to wit attempted robbery and robbery.

    The four remaining suspects, Safianu Musah alias Dayorgu, Ibrahim Abdul Rakib, Yussif Mohammed and Abdul Gafaru Abdul Karim are defending themselves on the charge of dishonestly receiving stolen items.

    Facts of the case

    Prosecution says the police On March 4, this year received information that a male adult was found lying dead at Ashiaman Taifa.

    A team of Police personnel were dispatched to the crime scene and the Police retrieved a blood-stained knife, a backpack containing an iPad, Ghana Card, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Card and Military Uniform belonging to Private Sherrif, who until his demise was a soldier with the Third Battalion at Sunyani.

    Investigations revealed that the slain soldier went to visit his female friend at Ashiaman Newtown at about 2230 hours on March 3, 2023, and left for his home at about 0130h hours on March 4, but was attacked by Tetteh and Sadick at Ashiaman Taifa with the intention of stealing his mobile.

    Police investigations established that Tetteh stabbed the soldier with a knife during the attack causing him to bleed to death.

    Tetteh and Sadick successfully robbed the deceased of his mobile phone and sold it to Ibrahim Abdul Rakib at GHC300.

    Ibrahim Rakib also sold the phone to Safianu Musah at GHC350 who claimed he has sold the iPhone to Yusif Mohammed for GHC500 and later to Abdul Gafaru Karim.

  • We are not conducting any enlistment or recruitment, be warned – GAF

    We are not conducting any enlistment or recruitment, be warned – GAF

    The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has warned the public against false job postings.

    GAF claims to have observed a phony online connection promoting hiring for the years 2023 and 2024.

    GAF wishes to caution the general public to desist from patronizing this fraudulent link (https://recruitmentfile.net/gaf.recruitment/), which is being circulated on social media platforms, especially WhatsApp and Facebook.

    A statement issued said “GAF wishes also to state that it is not conducting any enlistment or recruitment at this material time, and has not advertised such for the year 2023/2024. The public and persons interested in joining GAF should stick to the certified and official channels that GAF uses in announcing recruitments and enlistment exercises; that is the national dailies. (Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times)

    “GAF once again reiterates that, it does not advertise on social media and does not engage
    middlemen in such exercise. Therefore, the public should take heed of the education and numerous reminders to desist from paying monies through ‘mobile money’ to unscrupulous persons who claim to be recruitment agents of GAF.”

    It added “GAF further states that, in conjunction with other Security Services, such unscrupulous persons engaged in the fraudulent act are continuously being tracked down and those arrested will be dealt with severely according to the law.

    “Once again, GAF wishes to state that it is not conducting any 2023/2024 recruitment/enlistment exercise at this material time. The public is kindly advised to take note and report any advertisement and persons soliciting monies for such exercises, to the nearest Military Installation or Police Station. GAF requires the cooperation of the public to nib their fraudulent activities in the bud.”

  • World Oral Health Day: Consult your dentist twice a year – Dr. Louisa Ansong-Satekla urges Ghanaians

    World Oral Health Day: Consult your dentist twice a year – Dr. Louisa Ansong-Satekla urges Ghanaians

    Dental Surgeon, Dr. Louisa Ansong-Satekla has emphasized that deaths caused by oral diseases are avoidable if individuals will make it a habit to consult a dentist early when they have a dental problem.

    Stonebwoy’s wife spoke exclusively to the media on the sidelines of the World Oral Health Day observation held at the Duala Medical Centre, Burma Camp, Accra.

    She indicated that her earnest message to the public is that “we all give oral health the attention it so desperately needs and requires because oral health forms a great part of our overall well-being and so this is why a such as this is being commemorated and we’re doing so much, especially in this part of the world where oral health is seen by many as a luxury and not the necessity that it actually is.”

    “It’s important that we book appointments to see our dentists even when there is nothing wrong because unfortunately here, it seems that most people only go and see a dentist when they are in pain and by which time all the damage has already been done but prevention is key,” the Official FDI World Dental Federation Ambassador for World Oral Health Day stressed.

    She entreated the public to visit a dentist at least twice a year “just to make sure that everything is okay because we’re losing more and more people from diseases such as oral cancer which should not be the case.”

    “Early detection saves lives,” she emphasised. “It’s very important that we take note of these things and then we take actions to prevent loss of lives and things like that.”

    Dr. Louisa Satekla chaired the World Oral Health Day observation organised by and held at the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) Duala Medical Centre, Burma Camp, Accra, Monday, March 20, 2023.

    The 2023 World Oral Health Day celebration is themed: Be proud of your mouth.

  • Video: Police officers and soldiers clash at Accra Central

    Video: Police officers and soldiers clash at Accra Central

    In a viral video on social media, personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service engaged in a scuffle at Accra Central.

    It is unknown what may have caused the confusion between the two security agencies. There is little information on the incidence.

    Neither the Ghana Armed Forces nor the Ghana Police Service have commented on the incident yet.

  • Why I was imprisoned for 11 months – Rtd Captain Effah-Dartey narrates

    Why I was imprisoned for 11 months – Rtd Captain Effah-Dartey narrates

    Private Legal Practitioner Captain (Retired) Nkrabeah Effah Dartey has narrated how he spent 11 months of his life in prison due to someone conspiring against him.

    Speaking to the media, some individuals gave false testimony against him, thus led to his demotion from the Ghana Armed Forces.

    According to him he was left in a situation in which he had no one to stand up for him.

    “I was sent to prison for eleven months and was also sacked from the Ghana Armed Forces because someone lied against me. So it is not easy for someone to tell lies about you where you would have nobody to defend you”. Captain Nkrabeah Effah Dartey said this in an interview with Angel FM Kumasi over the week.

    “There is nothing more painful than for someone to tell lie about you and you would have nobody to defend you, he stressed.

    The legal practitioner and politician is a retired military officer who served in the Ghana Armed Forces. He was promoted to the rank of captain on 27th April 1983 and just after almost four months, he exited the military on 14 August 1983.

    Ghana Armed Forces

  • Watch how GAF brought Christian Atsu’s body to his funeral grounds

    Watch how GAF brought Christian Atsu’s body to his funeral grounds

    The final funeral rites of Christian Atsu Twasam, former Ghanaian football international star is underway at the forecourt of the State House – Accra.

    His mortal remains arrived at the funeral grounds in the wee hours of Friday, March 17, 2034.

    GhanaWeb’s Joseph Nii Adamafio reporting from the grounds said the body was brought in by personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces for the State-Assisted Funeral of the late footballer.

    The military upon arrival, set up the casket draped in Ghana’s national flag before leaving it for attendees to pay their last respect to the footballer.

    Christian Atsu met his untimely death when he was recovered from the rubble of his collapsed apartment in Hatay following an earthquake that struck Turkey on February 6, 2023.

    Watch the video below:

  • Western Togoland invasion fake – Festus Aboagye

    Western Togoland invasion fake – Festus Aboagye

    Retired Colonel Festus Aboagye, a security expert, has revealed that the commotion surrounding Western Togoland’s invasion of the country was fraud.

    Homeland Study Group wanted the Volta, Oti, and parts of the Upper East Region to be made an autonomous country to be known as Western Togoland.

    Some members of the separatist group were accused of causing mayhem in the Volta, arrested and later charged with treason felony, conspiracy to commit crime amongst others.

    Speaking on the Big Issue on Citi TV with Selorm Adonoo, the Retired Colonel, rubbished reports that some terrorists attempted to invade Ghana.

    “This hoax about Western Togoland, terrorists invading Ghana was a ploy. In the process, the Ghana Armed Forces were deployed and casualties occurred. People were arrested, and we saw them in the media. As of now, can any journalist tell us where those arrested persons are? What has been the outcome of that event?” he asked.

    Background

    The group made a number of attempts to push its agenda. In 2020, the group blocked some major roads that connect Volta Region to Ghana’s capital city, Accra.

    Members of the separatist group even declared independence for the imaginary Western Togoland country on May 9, 2019.

    In October 2020, the government of Ghana arraigned 78 of the alleged separatists suspected to be behind the violent attacks in the Volta Region.

    They were charged, variously, with; treason felony, conspiracy to commit crime, namely, treason felony, conspiracy to commit crime, namely, participating in a campaign of prohibited organization namely Western Togoland, conspiracy to commit crime, namely, causing unlawful damage.

    The activities of the group sparked some other incidents in the region including a raid by some secessionists on the Aveyime and Mepe police stations which led to the release of cell inmates and the theft of 10 assault rifles.

    Police officers were also injured in the ensuing confrontations, whilst two persons were killed.

    Security personnel also said they foiled a plan by the group to burn down the Ho Central Market and other key installations.

    The Homeland Study Group Foundation, however, denied any involvement in the violent incidents.

  • Does a dead soldier in Ashaiman indicate locals murdered him? – Pratt quizzes

    Does a dead soldier in Ashaiman indicate locals murdered him? – Pratt quizzes

    Veteran journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jr. has criticized the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for deploying soldiers to Ashaiman to attack locals in retaliation for the murder of Imoro Sherrif, a 22-year-old military trainee.

    The young soldier was stabbed to death and left in the community by some unknown assailants.

    Reason(s) for the murder of the soldier is sketchy, however there are reports that he may have been killed over a woman.

    Following the murder, a group of soldiers were conveyed to the Ashaiman community and residents caught were subjected to severe beatings.

    Addressing the issue during Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ morning show, Kwesi Pratt sought to find out if there is any concrete evidence pointing the young soldier’s death to attacks by residents at Ashaiman, hence questioning the logic in the military besieging the community and whipping them.

    “Do we know who killed the soldier? How then do we boldly say it is the people of Ashaiman who killed him? Does seeing a soldier dead in Ashaiman mean the Ashaiman residents killed him?”, he queried.

    He argued that “nobody knows who killed the young man”, so “we can’t assert that what or those who killed him are from Ashaiman“.

    To him, “investigations into suspected murder, it is Police duties, not military duties”.

    He also added that the security personnel, in this case the Military, are supposed to be friends of civilians, not tormentors.

    “I’ve heard people saying we should fear the soldiers . . .we are to love those who protect us, not fear them.”

  • Military swoop at Ashaiman ‘senseless’ – Kwesi Pratt on brutalities

    Military swoop at Ashaiman ‘senseless’ – Kwesi Pratt on brutalities

    Editor-in-Chief of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has condemned the Military High Command sanctioning Tuesday’s operation at Ashaiman following the killing of a soldier, 22-year-old Imoro Sherrif.

    Mr Pratt in an interview described the move by the military men as ‘senseless.’

    The young recruit’s body was found in a pool of blood in the Ashaiman community on Tuesday. 

    His death caused the Military to invade the community, beating the residents mercilessly and capturing over 100 of them to their base. 

    Reacting to the military action, Kwesi Pratt emphasized that it was not their duty to storm the community and that their operation was absolutely needless. 

    To him, such operations shouldn’t be encouraged stating it doesn’t augur well for the nation. 

    “If we are to go by this principle that because a soldier has been killed and we find his corpse somewhere, soldiers have the right to go there and do what these soldiers went to do and so we extend this principle, can we live in Ghana? We can’t live here. What if we also find a doctor dead somewhere, does it mean doctors also have a right to load their syringes with poison and poison patients? Does it make sense?”, he snapped.

    “In fact, the whole operation shouldn’t have taken place. They should have used proper investigative institutions and systems to investigate the matter,” he asserted. 

    To those arguing in favour of the Military exerting what they term as “minimum force” on the residents, Mr. Pratt asked; “Where from the minimum force? What’s the need for this minimum force when the person has surrendered, when the person is lying on the ground, when the person is not resisting?” 

    “Minimum force is applied when the person is resisting,” he stressed. 

  • Prof Appiagyei condemns Ashaiman military raid

    Prof Appiagyei condemns Ashaiman military raid

    Associate Professor at the School of Law, University of Ghana, Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua has described as unconstitutional the invasion of Ashaiman by some the military on Tuesday, March 7.

    Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, he said the military’s abuse of residents in the Accra suburb goes against the country’s laws especially when the constitution clearly stipulates how citizens should be treated.

    “What happened at Ashaiman violates every law in our book…the fact that we have a whole chapter in our constitution on human rights and for the dignity of human beings to be degraded to that level is appalling. It is best condemned in the strongest terms,” Prof Appiagyei-Atua said.

    He told the host Samson Lardy Anyenini that after 30 years of Ghana’s return to constitutional rule, the rule of law should work to protect the public and for people to be considered citizens, not spectators.

    “What happened really takes us generations back, and it is a sour reminder of our past…some of us who experienced a little bit of military rule and the fact that there was lawlessness and disorderliness, I think that is what happened at Ashaiman.”

    “I feel outraged, dismayed and so disappointed about what has happened in 21st century Ghana after 30 years of return to constitutional rule.”

    Last Saturday, March 4, 2023, a young soldier was allegedly murdered at Ashaiman Taifa by unknown persons.

    Angered by his death, the military in the early hours of March 7, stormed Ashaiman and brutalised some residents in a search for the murderers.

    They also took some of the residents away for interrogation. Most of them have since been released as of Friday.

    The MP for the area then condemned the act by the military men.

    According to him, although the killing of the soldier was a dastardly act, “we cannot take the laws into our hands whether we are lawmakers or security agencies.”

    However, the Ghana Armed Forces says the operation was merely a swoop in a man-hunt for some criminals and not for vengeance.

    According to GAF, “the military operation, which was sanctioned by the Military High Command, was not to avenge the killing of the soldier but rather to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime.”

    But Prof Appiagyei-Atua says this is hogwash.

    He believes that the military officers who brutalised innocent citizens in Ashaiman ve brought to book as the law stipulates.

    “It is the wish of well-meaning Ghanaians that this matter is not swept under the carpet and that the people involved are sanctioned and punished,” he stated.

    Meanwhile, the police through its own intelligence-led operations have revealed that they have arrested key suspects in the murder of Sheriff Imoro.

  • Former Sports Minister jailed 7 days over contempt of court

    Former Sports Minister jailed 7 days over contempt of court

    The Accra High Court’s Financial and Economic Crime Division 2 has sentenced Dr. Mustapha Ahmed, the former minister of youth and sports, to seven days in jail for contempt of court.

    A perpetual injunction prohibiting the former minister, who was the defendant, from trespassing on property was given by the court in a judgment on June 12, 2019, but he disobeyed the ruling.

    The court also fined him GH¢12,000 or in default serve 30 days in prison.

    If paid, the court presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, ordered that GH¢5,000 out of the fine should be paid to Kofi Ammoah Kwafo, the man, who ini­tiated the contempt application against Dr Ahmed, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Director-General of Logistics of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

    The contempt motion originated from a land litigation case, six years ago, in which Dr Ahmed, a former Member of Parliament for Ayawaso North, sold land to Mr Kwafo, in the year 2000, and repossessed it with the excuse of having made a mistake.

    In the contempt application, the appli­cant, Mr Kwafo, attached the Chief of Defence Staff and the Director-General of Logistics because personnel of the GAF, occupying a property built on the land in dispute resisted execution of the judgement of the court.

    Justice Asare-Botwe, who is a Court of Appeal judge, sitting with additional re­sponsibility as a High Court judge, noted in her judgement that both Chief of Defence Staff and the Director-General of Logistics were not personally served with copies of the court land litigation judgement of 2019.

    In his affidavit in support and written address, Mr Kwafo stated that the respon­dents conducted themselves in a manner as to bring the administration of justice into disrepute by defying the authority of the court.

    For instance, the applicant argued that the first respondent, purportedly disposed of the property to the GAF, in 2017, which document was executed in 2018 and the ap­plication for registration, therefore, having been made in 2021 when the judgement of the court was already handed down.

    Mr Kwafo said that the officers of the GAF were in contempt of court when they resisted the execution of the judgement of the court.

    Mr Kwafo was represented by Mr Kwaku Osei Asare as counsel.

    Counsel for Dr Ahmed, Mr Christopher A. Fynn, in his written submission, stated that his client cannot be found to be in con­tempt since no evidence had been canvassed to show that he had fallen in breach of any order, direction or judgement of the court to merit such action.

    He denied having backdated the assign­ment of the sub-matter to the GAF or any other allegation of fraud and stated that, this was a ploy to enforce the judgement handed down by the court by a means other than what was prescribed by the rules of court.

    The former minister stated that the applicant was deploying an incompetent process in bringing the application to incite the court against him and the other respon­dents.

    The Chief of Defence Staff and the Di­rector of Logistics told the court that there was no evidence of a writ of possession having been properly obtained and served them as they had not been parties to the suit.

    It was their case that posting the judge­ment on the property and writing to the GAF was not a proper procedure for notify­ing them of the judgement.

  • Eliminate obstacles that restrict women – Ghana Armed Forces

    Eliminate obstacles that restrict women – Ghana Armed Forces

    It has been suggested that the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) eliminate obstacles that prevent women from fully participating in the military.

    Major General Richard Addo Gyane, the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), stated that despite the numerous efforts made by the GAF to ensure the effective participation of women in its operations, there were still obstacles that needed to be overcome, such as social roles and insufficient infrastructure.

    “Flying aloft the flag of our cherished nation, the Ghana Armed Forces are positioned on a high pedestal in worldwide gender and peacekeeping compensation.

    “Despite that, there remain structural and traditional barriers that hinder the full participation of women in internal operations at home, as well as international peacekeeping operations.

    Barriers such as gender roles, social inclusion and infrastructure deficits are likely to gradually erode the gains made,” he said. 

    Occasion

    Maj. Gen. Gyane was speaking at the Ghana Armed Forces commemoration of the International Women’s Day yesterday on the theme: “Enhancing GAF’s innovative gender equity strides for an inclusive force”.

    International Women’s Day is marked on March 8 every year to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. 
    The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

    The GAF commemoration featured a panel discussion on different topics of interest to help personnel and stakeholder to appreciate the relevant issues of women inclusion into the armed forces.

    Maj. Gen. Gyane said his outfit was collaborating with the GAF to provide research and technical support to the military to identify the various barriers to enhance the GAF’s capacity to address them. 

    Strides

    The Chief of Staff, General Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Nicholas Peter Andoh, said since the enlistment of the first female into the  military in 1958, the GAF had seen an increase in the promotion of women into senior strategic decision making positions.

    He said presently, the GAF consisted of about 18 per cent women, a figure above the UN gender parity effort of 10 per cent.

    These efforts, he said, had further been bolstered through the GAF’s collaboration with Canada through the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations and the KAIPTC’s Women Peace and Security Institute.

    Through the Elsie Initiative Fund, he said the GAF was undertaking projects such as a media campaign to engage potential female recruits and cadets, construction of 300-bed capacity accommodation for female recruits at the Army Recruit Training centres at Shai Hills and Daboya Training Camp, among others, to enhance effective female roles. 

    Commitment

    The Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Martine Moreau, expressed her government’s commitment to support the GAF in its gender mainstreaming efforts and peacekeeping goals.

    In line with that, she said the Canadian government, in partnership with the KAIPTC and the GAF, was presently undertaking a garrison tour across the country to raise awareness of gender equality at all levels and to help to prepare leadership and personnel for enhanced gender mainstreaming efforts, in order to advance women throughout the ranks of the armed forces.

    “Our aim remains to enable all personnel, regardless of gender, to attain their full potential to the benefit of the GAF in becoming an even more effective national institution,” she added.

    The Gender Policy Advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff, Naval Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin, urged all stakeholders to embrace equity for an inclusive force.

    The GAF, she said, was developing a comprehensive gender policy to sensitise personnel on gender mainstreaming, among other efforts.

  • Respect people in uniforms – Defence Minster to Ghanaians

    Respect people in uniforms – Defence Minster to Ghanaians

    Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, has entreated all and sundry to give the appropriate reverence to the few Ghanaians who have dedicated their lives to protect the country.

    Speaking to the media following a meeting with Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee and some members of the Ghana Armed Forces, he noted that such an environment will inure to the benefit of citizens, particularly civilians.

    His comment comes as a response to the recent murder of a military officer in Ashaiman and the invasion by the military which has generated talks about democracy and abuse of power by the security agency.

    “…incidences like this in the life of the country do happen, we are shaping up a country and we are going to have some of these regrettable incidences happening. But I will still appeal to the people of Ghana to be very respectful of people in uniform, it will help all of us but I will not say anything until the committee itself and we have gone on Thursday to visit the place and ascertain for ourselves.”

    He continued, “One of the reasons we are not going immediately is that it is still ongoing and we don’t want to compromise with it and that is why we tasked our colleagues to tone down the statement. We want a peaceful Ghana and that’s all.”

    Meanwhile, Chairman of the Defence Committee Kennedy Agyapong said the minister apologised on behalf of GAF and will visit the area next week Thursday.

    The military invaded Ashaiman, brutalising innocent residents after the murder of one of their own on Saturday dawn.

    The incident happened on the dawn of Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Official town in Ashaiman during a heavy downpour.

    Reports indicate that residents have been forced to stay in their rooms until there was calm.

  • Group requests recompense for victims of military violence

    Group requests recompense for victims of military violence

    A pressure organization, Ashaiman Lives Matter, has urged President Akufo-Addo to swiftly form a committee to look into the brutality certain soldiers committed against Ashaiman residents.

    The group is also demanding compensation for victims assaulted by the soldiers.

    The invasion followed the death of a young soldier who was stabbed to death by some unknown assailants in the community.

    “We are currently in a constant state of fear for our dear lives because the soldiers told the residents that it is a Month’s Operation and they have instructions from above to put the fear of God in them to avenge the murder of the fallen soldier.

    “Ladies and Gentlemen of the press we the people of Ashaiman condemn the beastly acts of the Ghana Armed Forces and we also call for President of the Republic of Ghana His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo Danquah, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces to do same and render an unqualified apology to the Good People of Ashaiman for the criminal acts of his troops.”

    The group also called on the media, civil society, the Ghana Bar Association, and the clergy among others to condemn the violence and criminal acts of the soldiers.

  • Ashaiman military brutalities: Should other professionals also resort to vigilante justice? – Kwesi Pratt

    Ashaiman military brutalities: Should other professionals also resort to vigilante justice? – Kwesi Pratt

    The managing editor of Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jr., has expressed his views on the military’s actions on Tuesday in Ashaiman.

    Speaking to the media on March 8, he questioned the severity of the military’s presence and the penalty meted out to the residents of Ashaiman.

    Pratt argued that if every member of the public sector responded to the death of one of its members in the same manner as the military, Ghana would not be a somber nation.

    He added, “So if doctors are killed, should they put down their tools and take their syringes to the community and inject poison? What kind of lawless society are we building? This statement is in bad taste.”

    He pointed out that the military’s duties exclude investigations pertaining to murder cases; therefore, the government should bring the perpetrators to book instead.

    Pratt also noted that the press statement from the security agency justifying its actions is baseless. He asked, “When did the military begin to investigate murder? Is that the remit of the military?”

    On Saturday, March 4, 2023, some unknown individuals killed 21-year-old soldier Trooper Sherif Imoro in Asahaiman.

    Following this, there was a heavy military presence in the area, and videos circulating on social media showed some military men brutalizing some residents.

    In a press statement dated Tuesday, March 7, 2023, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) said the operation was to apprehend some criminals and not to avenge.

    The security agency maintained that the military operation was sanctioned by the Military High Command.

  • Full details & photos of slain Ashaiman soldier drop

    Full details & photos of slain Ashaiman soldier drop

    A military was lynched to death at Ashaiman, a town near Tema in the Greater Accra Region, leaving chaos and sadness in the wake of his death.

    The young soldier was allegedly stabbed several times by unknown assailants on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

    The unfortunate incident led some personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces to storm Ashaiman and brutalise residents. The assault on residents has been trending online.

    1. Real name of the slain Ashaiman soldier

    The young man has been identified as Imoro Sheriff. A statement from the Ghana Armed Forces has confirmed his name.

    Some checks also reveals that he is affectionately called Nana Kwasi.

    2. Age of soldier killed at Ashaiman

    The deceased soldier was 21 years old. It had been initially reported that Imoro was 22, but it later emerged that he was born in June 2001 and thus not up to 22 yet.

    3. Slain soldier Imoro Sheriff’s education

    Imoro Sherif attended Akwamuman SHS in the Eastern Region, where he studied General Arts. He is reported to have completed in 2019.

    4. Who are Imoro Sheriff’s parents?

    Imoro Sheriff’s father is called Imoro Awudu. His mother is 45-year-old Afia Kyeraa, who has been left weeping by the incident.

    5. Hometown of Imoro Sheriff

    It is not known where the young man’s parents come from, but he was reported to have been born in Ashaiman and lived and schooled there before attending SHS in Eastern Region.

    6. Career of Imoro Sheriff as a soldier

    About two years after completing SHS, Imoro enlisted in the Ghana Armed Forces. He passed out in October 2021 after training in Daboya before being posted to the 3rd Infantry Battalion in Sunyani.

    He was a trumpeter who played in the military band.

    7. Girlfriend of Imoro Sheriff

    Whether the young was in a love relationship cannot be confirmed, but a lady known as Nana Yaa Mingle shared a loved-up video with him.

  • SONA 2023: One of the most inspiring speeches the president has ever given – Vincent Assafuah

    SONA 2023: One of the most inspiring speeches the president has ever given – Vincent Assafuah

    A member of parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has praised President Akufo- Addo’s 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA) as one of the greatest since he took office in 2017.

    He said Akufo-Addo deserves praise for being quite open about the economy’s current plight.

    Speaking in an interview with Ghana’s Nimatu Yakubu Atouyese, he said, “I must say that since 2017, this is one of the best state of the nation addresses I have ever heard from President Nana Addo. Akufo-Addo did not just come to the house to come and fulfil Article 67 of the 1992 constitution; he came to indeed let us know the health of this nation. He gave us a trajectory of where we came from as a nation from 2017 to date, and you remember that before 2020, Ghana was seen as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, not in Africa.

    “…Akufo-Addo was very candid with Ghanian people, he was very clear about what is happening, and he did not mince words with whatever is happening and gave the true state of the nation address.”

    President Akufo-Addo appeared before Parliament to give the State of the Nation Address in accordance with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

    SONA is a constitutional obligation and yearly tradition where the Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces reports on the status of the country, unveils the government’s agenda for the coming year and proposes to Parliament certain legislative measures.

    Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana obliges Members of Parliament (MPs), the Speaker of Parliament and the Judiciary to receive the President’s SONA.

  • 150 Ashaiman residents picked up by military freed – MP for Ashaiman

    150 Ashaiman residents picked up by military freed – MP for Ashaiman

    Over 150 of the 184 people who were detained by the military in a raid in Ashaiman on March 7, 2023, according to Ernest Nogbey, the member of parliament for Ashaiman, have been freed.

    The MP noted that the other 30 are still being held in military custody after witnessing the released individuals.

    Following the assassination of a military officer, Trooper Sherriff Imoro, who was allegedly stabbed in the town on Saturday, March 4, 2023, military personnel brutalized citizens in Ashaiman on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

    Ernest Nogbey in an interview with Citi News said they will push till all arrested residents are freed.

    “Out of the 184 [detained by the military], 150 have been released. As we speak, we have about 34 yet to be released by the military, and they state that they are just screening them”.

    “So by close of today [March 9] we will know whatever outcome may come from the screening. I just met with the 150 including their families and calmed the situation down and assured them that we are going to take charge of the situation and also provide some leadership for them so none of them should take the law into their hands,” the Ashaiman MP said.

    The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) in a statement justified the brutalities adding that the raid was not to avenge the death of the soldier but to fish out perpetrators of heinous crimes.

    GAF announced that its high command sanctioned the swoop.

  • GAF deletes and re-uploads controversial ‘Ashaiman statement’ amid public backlash

    GAF deletes and re-uploads controversial ‘Ashaiman statement’ amid public backlash

    The GAF has updated on its social media sites a public statement it issued on Tuesday, March 7, regarding a section of its members brutalizing some Ashaiman residents.

    The date on the earlier press statement had 7 March, 2022 but its latest statement has 7 March, 2023.

    On March 7, 2023, about 20 military officers invaded Ashaiman, restricting free movement of residents.

    The Tuesday imposed curfew, per reports, comes as a response to the murder of a military officer over the weekend.

    Reports say a male soldier was beaten to death by unknown civilians in the area.

    The soldier, Trooper Imoro Sherrif, who was based in Sunyani but enrolled in a degree in Accra, had asked for permission to visit his parents in Ashaiman, where he was raised. Nevertheless, he was discovered in a pool of blood early on March 4, 2023, next to the Amania Hotel in Ashaiman.

    According to the GAF, about 184 suspects aged between 21 and 47 years old in relationship to the murder of the deceased are yet to be handed to the Ghana Police Service.

    “During the course of the swoop, the personnel seized 29 slabs and 57 mini slabs of suspected Indian hemp and amnesia among other forms of narcotics. The Ghana Armed Forces wish to put on record that the swoop was not targeted at innocent civilians but was an intelligence-led operation conducted on suspected hideouts of criminals and crime-probe areas in the general area. The GAF, however, acknowledges that regrettably some innocent persons might have been caught up in the operation and consequently suffered some distress due to the location they found themselves at the time,” a statement signed by Brigadier-General E. Aggrey Quashie, the Director-General, Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces said.

  • Ashaiman military brutality: Our operation was not to seek vengeance – GAF

    Ashaiman military brutality: Our operation was not to seek vengeance – GAF

    The Ghana Armed Forces has said that the operation they carried out in some areas of Ashaiman was simply a swoop in a manhunt for some criminals and was not carried out for retaliation.

    Following the assassination of a young soldier, Trooper Imoro Sherrif, near Ashaiman-Taifa on Saturday dawn, a savage military invasion of some of Ashaiman occurred on Tuesday dawn.

    Footages shared on social media show armed military personnel brutalising residents.

    According to GAF, “the military operation, which was sanctioned by the Military High Command, was NOT to avenge the killing of the soldier but rather to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime.”

    They added that their “swoop” had led to the arrest of about 184 suspects aged between 21 and 47 years old and have they have since handed them over to the military police who will subsequently send them over to the Ghana Police Service for screening and further action.

    According to GAF, during the course of their operation they had seized 29 slabs and 57 mini slabs of suspected Indian hemp and amnesia among other forms of the narcotics.

    “The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) also wishes to place on record that the swoop was not targeted at innocent civilians but was an intelligence–led operation conducted on suspected hideouts of criminals and crime-prone areas in the general area,” they stressed.

    “GAF however acknowledges that regrettably some innocent persons might have been caught up in the operation and consequently suffered some distress due to the location they found themselves at the time,” they added.

    Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces has urged the general public to “provide useful information, support the security agencies in weeding out criminals and miscreants from our communities and to desist from shielding and conniving with such suspects in order to the curb criminal activities in the country.”

  • 4 soldiers and an immigration officer arrested for galamsey extortion

    4 soldiers and an immigration officer arrested for galamsey extortion

    Four soldiers and an immigration officer are among the 13 people who have been detained at Konongo in the Ashanti Region for allegedly participating in illegal operations at Mantin in the Bosome-Freho District of the Ashanti Region.

    On Friday, they were taken into custody by National Security Operatives with the help of the Konongo Divisional Police Command along with a Chinese citizen they had already taken into custody before being approached.

    The immigration officer was identified as Assistant Immigration Control Officer Emmanuel Acheampong, while the four soldiers have been named as Warrant Officer (WO) Boateng, Corporal Otibu Dacosta, Private Bruce Afful, and L. S. Asomay.

    Furthermore, the civilians including those in military uni­forms were, Bernard Nyarko, Nana Amoako Arthur, Odei Michael, Nana Danquah, Prince Boakye, Asare Francis, Appiah Francis, Darkey Michael, Atitsogbe Bismark and Eric Addo.

    A source at the National Security headquarters in Accra told the Ghanaian Times that a search con­ducted led to the seizure of three locally manufactured single barrel guns, one pump action rifle, three knives, two heavy duty batteries, one pepper spray, dummy taser and cash amount of GH¢18,870.00 from them.

    The source further noted that the suspects were transported to Kumasi and were currently being held in close custody at 4 Infantry Battalion and Headquarters Central Command guardrooms with the exception of the GIS officer and the Chinese national, who were handed over to GIS HQ in Kumasi.

    It noted that the involvement of soldiers in unauthorised operations and the use of military uniforms by civilians were becoming rife in recent times despite efforts by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to clamp down on the menace.

    “It is expected that a thorough investigation will be conducted into the activities of the group and disciplinary action taken against them if found culpable to serve as deterrence to others,” the source said.

    Meanwhile a statement issued by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) in Accra yesterday and signed by Chief Superintendent of Immigration, Michael Amoako-At­ta, head of Public Affairs, said the service had taken note of the widely circulated incident in which a group of persons including an immigration officer was alleged to have been terrorising miners within mining communities in the Ashanti Region.

    The statement said the officer whose service identity card went viral on social media had been identified and was assisting in investigations.

    “The GIS wishes to dissociate itself from the misconduct of the said officer if investigations prove that he was involved in the incident.

    Management wishes to assure the general public that investiga­tions has begun and the said officer or any other person involved in the incident will not be spared if found guilty,” the statement stressed.

  • Bawku clash is fuel by criminal activities, not chieftaincy – Nitiwul

    Bawku clash is fuel by criminal activities, not chieftaincy – Nitiwul

    The dispute in Bawku, according to defense minister Dominic Nitiwul, revolves more around criminality than chieftaincy.

    He said he has asked the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to deal with the situation.

    Speaking in Parliament on “What is happening today is not about chieftaincy. It is criminality. Those operating are criminals.

    “I have asked members of the armed forces to deal with such persons as pure criminals.

    “The government has done what it can on its part to ensure that Bawku is peaceful. We have moved Bawku from 50 to 400 soldiers, so we are sending another 500 military task force to Bawku alone next week.”

    Last week, the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) war residents of Bawku not to engage in an exchange of fire with the Military.

    The REGSEC held an emergency on Thursday, February 2 2023 to review the security situation in  Bawku.

    Following the meeting, a statement released said “REGSEC calls on the people of Bawku to remain calm as it works to bring lasting peace in Bawku .

    “REGSEC asked factions to desist from any attempt to engage the Miluray in combat since that will be catastrophic on the part of civilians.”

    The military in Bawku was accused of killing some residents.

    It was alleged by some individuals in Bawku that soldiers deployed on Operation Gongong to restore calm in the area are killing innocent Kusasi youth and women in their homes and communities.

    It was also alleged that military personnel have seized Zoogin, a Kusasi community.

    But the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) refuted these allegations.

    “GAF wishes to categorically state that these allegations are false and unfounded,” a statement said.

    It further explained that information received from the National Investigations Bureau by the Operation Gongong Team of GAF early this week indicated that passengers on board a yellow KIA Grand Bird Bus with Registration Number AS 3672-21 travelling from Accra to Missiga were attacked by unknown gunmen around Kpawelga on the Bawku Highways.

    The gunmen fired through the tyre and engine compartment of the vehicle. The bus is currently packed at Assylum Down, Bawku Divisional Police Station for the investigation to be conducted.

    Also one KIA Rhino truck with registration number AS 7093-17 was hit and the driver of the truck, Alhassan Abdella aged 40, from the Gonja tribe sustained a gunshot wound on the left foot. He is currently receiving treatment at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital.

    Again, it added, on Wednesday 1 February 2023, gunshots were heard around South Natinga in Bawku. A Patrol Team rushed to the general area of the shooting where a suspect, Abdul Malik Haruna, aged 35 from the Mamprusi tribe was arrested. He has since been handed over to the Bawku Police for further investigation.

    “It must be also placed on record that based on a tip off by the Bawku Police on the hideout of the suspects alleged to be involved in the firing incident at Bawku, troops conducted cordon and search operations together with Bawku Police at Pateleme General Area.

    “Three suspects, Fatau Alhassan Binda, aged 42, Abubakar Iddrisu, aged 44 and Alhassan Mustapha Binda, aged 33, all from the Dagomba tribe were arrested in a house at Pateleme. They were handed over to the Bawku Police for further investigations,” the statement said.

  • List: 10 victims of Bawku violence, Ayariga reveals

    List: 10 victims of Bawku violence, Ayariga reveals

    Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Constituency, Mahama Ayariga, has provided details of victims of the alleged military killings and brutalities that ensued in Bawku on Tuesday 31st January and Wednesday 1st February 2023.

    His claims are yet to be verified, however, these are the individuals who are said to have sustained casualties as a result of the violence.

    The Ghana Armed Forces, on the other hand, has refuted allegations that soldiers deployed to Bawku to restore calm and maintain order had killed some residents.

    Imoro Salifu

    Age: 59 years, House No: J25, Patelmi, Bawku

    He is survived by 2 wives and 6 children. The unfortunate incident occurred in Patelmi. Deceased was reportedly shot by the military in front of his house at about 8pm on 26th January 2023.

    Dauda Salifu

    Age: 60 years, House No: J24 Patelmi, Bawku.

    He is survived by a wife and 5 children.

    The unfortunate incident occurred in Patelmi. The deceased was shot and killed by men in military uniform in front of his house at about 8pm on 26th of January 2023.

    http://backend.theindependentghana.com/mahama-ayariga-takes-gaf-to-chraj-over-killings-and-brutalities-at-bawku/

    Akudugu Bugnaba Karim

    A 31-year-old nurse. Address:MC 146 songuri- missiga, Bawku

    Married and survived by 3 children; Mother: Issifu Ayishetu (alive) and Father: Akudugu Issifu (alive)

    He died of gun shot wounds. He was seen being chased by men wearing military uniforms by foot while others were in the armor vehicle equally chasing him too. Location of incident was in a valley near Sunguri primary school.

    Abunbiana Madi

    Age: 33, Address: Songuri missiga, hse no Mc147
    Wives: 3; Children:6; Father: Mamudu Abunbiana (alive) and Mother: Mamudu Salamatu (alive)

    The motorcycle mechanic is said to have died of gunshot wounds by the military. Men wearing military uniforms were seen chasing him on foot while some were in the armor vehicle chasing and shooting. This happened at a valley near Sunguri primary school.

    Kassim Issah

    Age:33, Address: House No. ME43, Zoogin Missiga
    Married with one child; Father: (deceased) and Mother Kassim Habiba (alive)

    He reportedly died of military gunshots wounds on his head. Location of incident was the valley near Songuri primary school. He was on top of a mongo tree when he was shot. They wore military uniforms with three armor vehicles and surrounded the valley full of mongo trees.

    Adamu Sumaila

    Age: 32, Address: House No. ME43 Baratinga, Missiga.
    Married with 2 wives; Children:7; Mother: (deceased) and Father: (deceased)

    He is said to have died of gunshots by the members of the military. Location of the incident was the valley near Songuri primary school. He was fetching water with a donkey cat to build when the military allegedly shot him.

    Sumaila Jafaru

    Age: 12, Address: ME 32, Baratinga, Missiga.

    His mother was also sustained wounds in her left hand from the gun shots of the military and is receiving medical treatment. According to reports, his father had also been killed by the military.

    The military is reported to have burned Sumaila Jafaru in a room full of hay where he had taken refuge. The incident occurred in their house. The deceased mother resisted and that is how they shot her in the hand.

    Ndeego Mumuni

    Age: 39, Address: ME23, Baratinga, Missiga.
    Married with one wife; Children: 5; Father: (deceased); Mother:(deceased)

    Died of gunshot wounds allegedly inflicted by the military. He was in his garden watering his garden plants. Location of incident was his garden in the valley near Sunguri primary school

    Haruna kudus

    Age: 17; Address: House No. ME36 Zoogin, Missiga

    He allegedly died of gunshots by the military at the valley near Songuri primary school.

    Ayuma Eliasu

    Age: 37, Address: Sarabogo, Pusiga

    Married with 2 wives; Children:7

    He reportedly died of gunshot wounds inflicted by the military. Incident occurred at the valley near Songuri primary school.

    Meanwhile, Mr Mahama Ayariga, has petitioned the Commission On Human Rights And Administration Justice (CHRAJ) to look into the reported killings and brutalities of his constituents by officers of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

  • Mahama Ayariga takes GAF to CHRAJ over killings and brutalities at Bawku

    Mahama Ayariga takes GAF to CHRAJ over killings and brutalities at Bawku

    Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Constituency, Mahama Ayariga, has petitioned the Commission On Human Rights And Administration Justice (CHRAJ) to look into the reported killings and brutalities of his constituents by officers of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

    Per reports, about 10 people were shot dead by members of the armed forces Operation Gongong in Bawku on Tuesday 31st January and Wednesday 1st February 2023.

    According to Mr Ayariga, several human rights such as children’s rights, women’s rights and property rights have been violated by the military.

    In his complaint, the legislator stated that “the military do not deny shooting and killing these residents of Bawku”.

    In a statement issued on 2nd February 2023, the Ghana Armed Forces refuted allegations that soldiers deployed to Bawku to restore calm and maintain order had killed some residents.

    The military explained that passengers on board a yellow KIA Grand Bird Bus with Registration Number AS 3672-21 travelling from Accra to Missiga were attacked by unknown gunmen around Kpawelga on the Bawku Highways. The gunmen fired through the tyre and engine compartment of the vehicle.

    “Also, one KIA Rhino truck with registration number AS 7093-17 was hit and the driver of the truck, Alhassan Abdella aged 40, from the Gonja tribe sustained a gunshot wound on the left foot.

    “Again, on Wednesday 1 February 2023, gunshots were heard around South Natinga in Bawku. A Patrol Team rushed to the general area of the shooting where a suspect, Abdul Malik Haruna, aged 35 from the Mamprusi tribe was arrested.

    “Three suspects, Fatau Alhassan Binda, aged 42, Abubakar Iddrisu, aged 44 and Alhassan Mustapha Binda, aged 33, all from the Dagomba tribe were arrested in a house at Pateleme. They were handed over to the Bawku Police for further investigations.

    “In a separate incident, sporadic firing was heard around Sabongari General Area. A Patrol Team dispatched to assess the situation spotted unknown armed men at Gozesi-Valley side in Sabongari wearing black T-shirts with Black Hoodies. Troops engaged them and neutralized six (6) armed men. During the engagement, some armed men took cover in a mud house within the immediate vicinity to engage the Team.

    “One of the armed men attempted to attack troops with a cutlass but was disarmed in the process. During the operation. a local woman found with a gunshot injury on her left hand was sent to Bawku Presbyterian Hospital by troops for treatment,” GAF’s statement recounted.

    http://backend.theindependentghana.com/jihadists-may-have-infiltrated-bawku-upper-east-regional-minister/

    In response, Mr Ayariga has rejected what he describes as “the self serving coverup account of the circumstances surrounding the brutal killings contained in the statement of the Ghana Armed Forces engaged in Operation Gongong” and has therefore called for an investigation by the CHRAJ so that eyewitnesses can give an accurate account of the brutality with which the military executed the killings.

    “The incidents occurred on the 1st of February 2023. An earlier killing of 2 persons in Patelmi in Bawku by members of the Ghana Armed Forces occurred on 26th of January 2023,” he revealed.

    http://backend.theindependentghana.com/security-analyst-describes-bawku-as-complete-war-zone/

    Meanwhile, Mr Ayariga has among other things demanded a compensation of Five Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghc 500,000.00) for each and every one of those whose lives were taken to be paid to their immediate families as punitive damage.

    He also wants members of the Ghana Armed Forces to be restrained from further acts of brutalities in Bawku in the exercise of their responsibilities to maintain peace in Bawku.

    Again, the Bawku Central MP wants adequate compensation to those who have suffered physical harm.

    Chraj-1 by The Independent Ghana on Scribd

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Bawku violence: Don’t engage military in combat – REGSEC warns locals

    Bawku violence: Don’t engage military in combat – REGSEC warns locals

    The feuding factions in Bawku have been urged to halt exchanging gunfire with military troops by the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC).

    The appeal follows reports of the military killing seven civilians in Bawku in the Upper East Region.

    The accusation which was first made by the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has been refuted by the Ghana Armed Forces.

    The military, however, claimed that they engaged some armed men and in the process neutralised six people.

    “In a separate incident, sporadic firing was heard around Sabongari General Area. A Patrol Team dispatched to assess the situation spotted unknown armed men at Gozesi-Valley side in Sabongari wearing black T-shirts with Black Hoodies. Troops engaged them and neutralised six (6) armed men. During the engagement, some armed men took cover in a mud house within the immediate vicinity to engage the Team,” the Ghana Armed Forces said in a statement.

    But the Chairman of the Security Council, Stephen Yakubu, speaking to journalists urged all persons in Bawku to remain calm and give peace a chance for the town to thrive.

    “I want to appeal through this medium that let’s give peace a chance because Bawku is virtually dying and I am very concerned.”

    Below is a statement from the Upper East Regional Coordinating Director:

  • Security analyst describes Bawku as complete war zone

    Security analyst describes Bawku as complete war zone

    A security analyst, Dr Adam Bonaa has described the capital town of the Upper East Region, Bawku as a complete war zone.

    He said people who have visited Bawku in the last year will attest to the fact.

    Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Thursday, he said, “.. Bawku is a war zone, it doesn’t look like the way we are describing it. It is a complete war zone,” he emphasised.

    According to him, the 11th mechanised military unit based in Bawku can also confirm his comment, adding that “even they themselves become overwhelmed.”

    “In recent days, I have intercepted some audios from young people in Bawku threatening that they have what it takes to flush out the military, you must be prepared to actually make such a statement and come out with such a statement,” he added.

    This comment is against the backdrop of the military in Bawku being accused of killing some residents.

    Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has rejected claims that its personnel deployed to Bawku to restore calm and maintain order have killed seven locals.

    According to GAF, the reportage is untrue and should be ignored.

     

    GAF in a press release issued on Thursday, February 2, and signed by its Director of Public Relations, chronicled several incidents of violent attacks in the area. 

    However, the release stated that the soldiers engaged a group of armed men and neutralised six of them.

    Reacting to this development, he asserted that the trend happening in Bawku is worrying.

    According to him, “the sporadic fighting with the military did not start today.”

    Dr Adam Bonaa added that the current escalation could probably stem from the presence of jihadists at the border.

    He, therefore, called for a thorough investigation as there are rumours of suspected jihadist presence.

    The security analyst further called on the state to pay more attention to the conflict in the area.

  • This year, Ghana will set up a War Command College – Akufo-Addo

    This year, Ghana will set up a War Command College – Akufo-Addo

    President Akufo-Addo has announced that Ghana will begin the process of constructing a War Command College this year.

    The Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces revealed on February 1, 2023 that he had tasked the Military High Command to activate processes towards that goal within this year.

    “The government will not relent in its effort to transform the Ghana Armed Forces into a formidable modern force and will continue to help enhance the capacity and capability of the Armed Forces towards the development of our nation.

    “I have tasked the Ministry of Defense and the Military High Command to begin the process of establishing a War College in Ghana this year. The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has been tasked to provide the seed capital,” he added.

    The president was speaking at the 2023 West Africa Soldier’s Socialization Activities (WASSA) of the Ghana Armed Forces, at Burma Camp in Accra.

    “The government and the people of Ghana continue to appreciate the sacrifices of the Ghana Armed Forces Forces towards ensuring peace and security both internally and externally,” he stressed.

    February 1, busy day for CIC

    President Akufo-Addo had a busy day aside from the WASSA, inagurating critical facilities for the military and donating equipment for their operations.

    He wrote on his Facebook wall: “As part of Government’s effort towards addressing the accommodation deficit of the Armed Forces, this morning, I commissioned a newly constructed 300 Bed capacity Joseph Siaw Agyepong Young Soldiers’ Block at the 37 Military Hospital, which will accommodate newly posted young soldiers to commence their basic training in medical care.

    “I also handed over the UN Level IV COVID-19 Field Hospital located near the Air Force Base, Accra, to the military High Command. I familiarised myself with the operations of DIKMAC Ltd, which is an armoured vehicle assembly plant located in Burma Camp, and also handed over a fleet of vehicles (175 in total) to the Headquarters 15 Armoured Brigade.

    “Commissioning the ultra-modern CDS office complex was one of the highlights of the day, for it is an edifice befitting the CDS and his staff.

    “I also cut the sod for the construction of a General Headquarters Office Complex for GHQ, and also for the construction of two thousand (2,000) housing units for the Navy,” the post accompanied by pictures of his engagement concluded.

  • Mahama Ayariga condemns military killings in Bawku, calls for calm

    Mahama Ayariga condemns military killings in Bawku, calls for calm

    The member of parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has chastised the Ghana Armed Forces for the killing and mistreatment of some of his constituents and vowed to do everything in his power to seek reparation.

    According to a statement issued under the name of the MP, on the night of Tuesday, January 31, 2023, there were reported gunshots heard in the Bawku township.

    This, he added, was part of efforts by the military to ensure that it brought the situation under control, but things spiralled and, in the end, some six civilians are said to have been killed at the hands of the soldiers.

    He said that the people who were killed were first chased and then shot, per the information available to him.

    “Let me condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the infliction of mortal casualties on innocent civilians by members of the Ghana Armed Forces in Bawku today. This is totally unacceptable and I will leave no stone unturned in my fight for redress for these victims.

    “Report reaching me is to the effect that there were gun fires last night across the Bawku town. The military, as part of their efforts to curtail the situation, chased anyone they saw, Information reaching is to the effect that they were chasing some people and other people saw those being chased running and also took to their heels. The military shot at them and in the process killed six civilians,” he stated.

    Mahama Ayariga further explained that one of the people who were killed was a little boy who had also gone into hiding, bringing the number of reported deceased to 7.

    He added that some other persons were physically abused, including an assemblyman.

    “A little boy who also run to hide behind some grasses was also shot. The grass caught fire and burnt him to death, making the number 7. In addition, the Assemblyman for Missiga Electoral Area was physically assaulted by military personnel and sustained serious injuries.

    “Several unspeakable brutalities have been reported,” he added.

    Vehemently condemning what transpired in his constituency, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP called out the continuous attacks of the military on his citizens.

    He has therefore called on the government to immediately investigate the matter, while calling for calm among the people of the Bawku township.

    “This is totally unacceptable and I condemn the military in very strong terms. There was similar killing of two men at patelmi because they allegedly broke curfew laws. This is preposterous. The Government must immediately investigate this report and bring to book the perpetrators of this dastardly act.

    “I urge everyone to lay down their weapons and let’s work towards peace and not give opportunities to others to inflict such inhuman treatment on us,” he added.

  • Story of how Police officers allegedly implanted weed, cocaine in a man’s car

    Story of how Police officers allegedly implanted weed, cocaine in a man’s car

    An audio recording from one Dr Patrick Asiedu accusing some police officers of planting substances suspected to be narcotics in his vehicle has surfaced on social media.

    Dr Asiedu reported that the incident occurred last week Friday while on the Trasacco road while on his way home to Kwashieman.

    “I met these policemen on the road and they asked me to pull over. I did and when they came, they asked that I get down from the car to search me. I was not comfortable with it but because I felt they were doing their work, I got down.

    They searched the car. In a few seconds, one of the policemen called me and told me he could see I had my tag and I am a doctor. If that is the case then do we have any problem with you but what is this weed doing in your car. I was like ‘what do you mean?’ He said look under your seat. What is this weed and cocaine doing over there? I was like cocaine and weed in my car?”

    He allegedly told them “I have no idea what they are doing in my car,” but according to Dr Asiedu, the police officers insisted the substances were his.

    http://backend.theindependentghana.com/four-arrested-for-possessing-over-104-bags-of-suspected-narcotics/

    In his narration, the health professional further claimed that the police requested a bribe of GHS20,000 to avoid being sent to the police station and the Narcotics Control Commission.

    “You can spend 15 years in jail so pay GHS20,000,” he claimed the police said while being directed to hold the suspected narcotics.

    Dr Patrick Asiedu said he phoned his brother at the Ghana Armed Forces who arrived at the scene with a number of military men.

    Per the audio, the parties involved proceeded to the police station and were later directed to head to the Narcotics Control Commission, but they were called by one Commander to engage at a location Dr Asiedu failed to mention.

    After their meeting hitting a snug, Dr Asiedu said he headed to the Narcotics Control Commission where his fingerprint was scanned.

    http://backend.theindependentghana.com/court-sentences-trader-ten-years-for-possessing-narcotics-2/

    “When they checked my fingerprint, they didn’t find any trace and my brother told the police to tell the truth,” he said.

    “One of the officers, who is a Muslim swore that he could never plant drugs in a car. Then another officer started crying, saying that we are very sorry. We planted it in his car,” Dr Asiedu added.

    Dr Asiedu further alleged that one Commander offered money to bury the issue, but was slapped by his brother, an action that led to a fisticuff.

    The said police officers, he said, were arrested by the military officers who arrived with his brother, and were sent to the East Legon Police Station but later transferred to the Accra Central Police Station.

    The audio has garnered massive reactions on social media platforms. While some Ghanaians have corroborated the claims made by Dr Asiedu by sharing their own experiences, others have questioned the validity of his claims.

    In a press statement on January 18, addressing the allegation, the Ghana Police Service announced that it has launched investigations into the matter.

    The Service noted its initial checks provided information contrary to the claims made by Dr Asiedu. The Police stated that it found no complaint at the East Legon and the Accra Central Police Stations mentioned in the audio.

    Also, the Police said it contacted the Narcotics Control Commission and the Ghana Armed Forces and both institutions have indicated that “no such incident has come to their attention.”

    However, the Service has assured that it will get to the bottom of the alleged incident as it “does not condone any unprofessional conduct in its quest to become an institution worthy of respect and trust in the country.”

    Read the full statement below

  • Gaps in the gold-for-oil policy will be filled – Government

    Gaps in the gold-for-oil policy will be filled – Government

    Concerns over the proposed government program to buy oil with gold from the nation will be allayed, according to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, as the nation gets ready to receive the first shipment of oil under the policy in a week.

    The government’s new approach is expected to have some teething problems, according to George Mireku Duker, deputy minister for lands and natural resources, who also asserts that intensive dialogues with all stakeholders would continue.

    He also said that the first shipment of oil under the new policy is anticipated to arrive in the nation soon—probably within a week.

    Speaking at a meeting with the Ghana Chamber of Mines in Accra, Mr. Duker said the meeting at beginning of the year was to enable the ministry bring lasting solutions to concerns raised by the Chamber.

    Some of the issues raised concerned local content development, fiscal regime stability; and mine security in the era of galamsey, and taxes among others. On the back of these, he recognised that the Chamber is a key partner in the mining industry – with which government will continue to engage.

    Also, it emerged that Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have acquired some high-tech military aircraft that can help boost surveillance in the mining sector. The aircraft, currently being kept in Takoradi, are also expected to be deployed soon to the mining areas as part of efforts to promote responsible mining in the country.

    Furthermore, during the meeting Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor noted that the Chamber of Mines remains key to attaining the vision of making Ghana a mining hub of Africa. He emphasised the need for deliberate engagement between the ministry and the Chamber to make this vision realisable.

    The Chamber, he said, needs to take a leading role in regulation of the mining industry; assuring of the ministry’s readiness to consider proposals and assistance from the Chamber and all other stakeholders.

    “As partners, we have to find a proper platform for engagements; and I believe that is the spirit with which we’ve been working for the past two years. We must see ourselves as partners. For us to be able to derive the needed benefits from the sector, we must continue to see each other as partners. As partners, it is important that we have these kinds of constructive engagements,” the minister said.

    The President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Joshua Mortoti, after the meeting restated the Chamber’s commitment to support government in realising its vision for the sector. However, he observed that the ‘health of the industry’ remains paramount – and that it is key nothing is done to comprise it. The Chamber, he said, is willing to engage further on the gold for oil policy so as to have a deeper understanding.

  • Netizens react to the arrested of fake soldier at Burma Camp

    The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) announced the arrest of a man who posed as a top military officer at Burma Camp in Accra on December 7, 2022.

    The suspect according to a release signed by GAF, was arrested after making an attempt to access a military installation using forged credentials.

    After the arrest of Rufai Abubakar, a search conducted at his two residences led to the discovery of among others, military accoutrements, fatigues and other forged documents purporting to help recruit people into the army.

    Whereas he has since been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service for further investigation and prosecution, the story is different on social media where people are mocking the suspect for his daring attitude.

    Users of social media platforms – especially Facebook and Twitter – have weighed in on the incident making funny takes of the daring nature of the fake soldier.

    For a number of them, they were enthused that of all places, he chose Burma Camp to conduct his illegal affairs whiles for others, it was the fact that he had clearly bitten more than he could chew.

    Burma Camp, one of the major military installations in the country was also in the trends since the Armed Forces issued the statement concerning the arrest.

    It remained in the trends till the morning of December 7, 2022 according to GhanaWeb checks.

    See some reactions below:

    Parts of the GAF statement on the arrest

    “Military Police personnel have arrested one Rufai Abubakar for posing as a Senior Military Officer and trying to access a military installation inside Burma Camp. The suspect who was dressed in a military camouflage uniform, decorated with fake Lieutenant Colonel ranks, claimed he was stationed at Northern Command Headquarters and was proceeding to the Air Force Base to book a flight to Tamale.

    “The suspect who entered Burma Camp in a commercial vehicle was closely monitored as he alighted at a bus stop and headed to the Air Force Base. The guards on duty noted his suspicious behaviour, questioned him and after some incoherent answers, he confessed he was not a service Personnel,” the statement said.

    The suspect according to GAF admitted to using his assumed identity to defraud several persons seeking to be recruited into the military.

    He is alleged to have defrauded one Mr Abdallah Abdul Fatahu of Three Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS3,000.00) “under the pretext of recruiting him into the Ghana Armed Forces,” the statement added.

    At the time of his arrest, Rufai had in his possession fake military identification and business cards and other documents bearing his name.

    The Military Police followed up to his two residences at Ablekuma Fan Milk and Olebu where documents including several certificates and fake Ghana Armed Forces recruitment application summary reports, “military uniforms and accoutrements and a toy pistol,” were retrieved.

    However, GAF noted that more people may have fallen victim to his fraud considering the fact that his two wives lived under the assumption that their husband is a real military officer.

    “Such persons are entreated to contact the Police CID to help in investigations and to support GAF and the Security Services in weeding out the miscreants within the service,” the statement added.

  • Fake soldier arrested at military facility

     The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) reported the capture of a man posing as a senior military official at Burma Camp in Accra.

    The suspect according to a release signed by GAF, was arrested after making an attempt to access a military installation using forged credentials.

    After the arrest of Rufai Abubakar, a search conducted at his two residences led to the discovery of among others, military accoutrements, fatigues and other forged documents purporting to help recruit people into the army.

    Whereas he has since been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service for further investigation and prosecution, the story is different on social media where people are mocking the suspect for his daring attitude.

    Users of social media platforms – especially Facebook and Twitter – have weighed in on the incident making funny takes of the daring nature of the fake soldier.

    For a number of them, they were enthused that of all places, he chose Burma Camp to conduct his illegal affairs whiles for others, it was the fact that he had clearly bitten more than he could chew.

    Burma Camp, one of the major military installations in the country was also in the trends since the Armed Forces issued the statement concerning the arrest.

    See some reactions below:

    Parts of the GAF statement on the arrest

    “Military Police personnel have arrested one Rufai Abubakar for posing as a Senior Military Officer and trying to access a military installation inside Burma Camp. The suspect who was dressed in a military camouflage uniform, decorated with fake Lieutenant Colonel ranks, claimed he was stationed at Northern Command Headquarters and was proceeding to the Air Force Base to book a flight to Tamale.

    “The suspect who entered Burma Camp in a commercial vehicle was closely monitored as he alighted at a bus stop and headed to the Air Force Base. The guards on duty noted his suspicious behaviour, questioned him and after some incoherent answers, he confessed he was not a service Personnel,” the statement said.

    The suspect according to GAF admitted to using his assumed identity to defraud several persons seeking to be recruited into the military.

    He is alleged to have defrauded one Mr Abdallah Abdul Fatahu of Three Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS3,000.00) “under the pretext of recruiting him into the Ghana Armed Forces,” the statement added.

    At the time of his arrest, Rufai had in his possession fake military identification and business cards and other documents bearing his name.

    The Military Police followed up to his two residences at Ablekuma Fan Milk and Olebu where documents including several certificates and fake Ghana Armed Forces recruitment application summary reports, “military uniforms and accoutrements and a toy pistol,” were retrieved.

    However, GAF noted that more people may have fallen victim to his fraud considering the fact that his two wives lived under the assumption that their husband is a real military officer.

    “Such persons are entreated to contact the Police CID to help in investigations and to support GAF and the Security Services in weeding out the miscreants within the service,” the statement added.

  • Fake Ghanaian soldier apprehended for attempting to access military installation

    Ghana armed forces has detained a guy who was impersonating a high military officer at the army base in Burma Camp.

    The Ghana Armed forces has arrested a man posing as a senior military officer at the forces base in Burma Camp located in the capital city, Accra.

    The suspect identified as Rufai Abubakar was arrested after trying to access a military installation using forged credentials.

    “The suspect who entered Burma Camp in a commercial vehicle was closely monitored as he alighted at a bus stop and headed to the Air Force Base. The guards on duty noticed his suspicious behaviour, questioned him and after some incoherent answers, he confessed he was not service personnel”, a press release by the Ghana Armed Forces on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 read.

    Details of the statement also has it that the suspect “…posed as a Senior Military Officer to enable him to defraud one Mr Abdallah Abdul Fatahu from whom he had collected an amount of three thousand Ghana Cedis (GH3,000.00) ($230) under the pretext of recruiting him into the Ghana Armed Forces.

    “The suspect who was dressed in a military camouflage uniform, decorated with fake Lieutenant Colonel ranks, claimed he was stationed at Northern Command Headquarters and was proceeding to the Air Force Base to book a flight to Tamale (Northern region),” the press release stated.

    It added that fake military identification and business cards and other documents bearing his name were found on the suspect at the time of his arrest.

    Rufai Abubakar took the Military Police officers to two residences where they discovered documents including several certificates and fake GAF recruitment reports bearing names of defrauded persons, military uniforms and a toy pistol.

    The suspect, according to the GFA has since been handed over to the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for further investigation and prosecution.

     

    Source: BBC

  • Britain to engage Ghana on troop relocation after Mali withdrawal

    Ghana is expected to host some British ministers this week to draw up a new security agreement after Britain withdrew its peacekeepers from Mali.

    A total of 300 peacekeepers were removed from Mali in the face of bands of Russian mercenaries and jihadist groups.

    Former Africa Minister Rory Stewart, while interacting with The Telegraph, said, “we struggled to maintain 300 troops in Mali, partly because it cost perhaps as much as a hundred million pounds from tightly stretched budgets. I fear that the ‘pivot to Ghana and Burkina Faso’ is largely a way of excusing our retreat from the Sahel and will ultimately add up to less than people pretend.”

    Minister for the Armed Forces, James Heappey, is also expected to touch down in Accra.

    Africa Director of Chatham House, Alex Vines, has noted that Britain will be concentrating on the Accra Initiative, a coalition involving Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, and Togo, to stop insecurity spilling over their borders from the Sahel.

    Ghana, which is deeply worried about the anarchy spreading across Burkina Faso, participated in the recent Accra Initiative conference held from November 17–22.

    Two levels of the conference; non-states member conference and ministerial session took place at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC), while the third level was held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra.

    It is unclear what the role of the troops is in Ghana, however, the country is strengthening its security measures against terrorist attacks.

    Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has already warned that terrorists may turn their attention to Ghana due to its mineral resources, such as gold.

    The 300 troops from the Royal Scot Dragoon Guards and Royal Irish Regiment, until their withdrawal, were meant to lead a revamped, highly mobile 14,000-strong peacekeeping force in Mali acting under the command of the United Nations (UN).

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • British troops already in Ghana training Armed Forces, we don’t intend to send more – UK government

    The British government has denied reports that it intends to deploy some Special Forces to Ghana following the withdrawal of some 300 peacekeepers from Mali in the wake of frosty relations with Bamako over the involvement of Russian mercenaries in the fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel.

    UK-based ‘The Telegraph’ in a report stated that British ministers are also expected to be in Accra to hammer out a new security agreement which will position Ghana and by extension Burkina Faso as the new front line against terrorism.

    The report said it was unclear if the move was a face-saving operation in the wake of the mission in Mali being shut down or something more significant as British forces already train troops in Ghana.

    Reacting to The Telegraph’s reportage, the UK Minister for Armed Forces and Veterans indicated that the media outlet misunderstood the briefing they had from the UK government.

    According to James Heappey, British troops are already in Ghana training the Ghana Armed Forces and the UK government has no plans of sending more troops to Ghana.

    “I think they’ve just slightly misunderstood whatever they were briefed. The reality is that there are already UK troops here in Ghana training your Armed Forces. There is currently no plan to send anybody else.

    “If American, British and French troops were to come to Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana Togo and Benin, we won’t make things better because that doesn’t help. And that’s why your President entirely is right. This needs to be a West African solution to a West African problem,” Heappey told Accra-based Joy News on Tuesday, November 22.

    The British government has denied claims that it has been invited to send Special Forces to Ghana after it was forced to withdraw all its peacekeepers from Mali.

    Meanwhile, the Government of Ghana has also denied The Telegraph’s reportage.

    A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration said the Government of Ghana has had no interactions with the UK Government aimed at deploying UK soldiers to Ghana as described in the story.

    The statement explained that the presence of the UK Minister for the Armed Forces in Accra was to participate in the Accra Initiative Conference on the 21st and 22nd of November 2022.

    “The Government of Ghana wishes to state that the information regarding British Special Forces is false. Neither Ghana nor any other member of the Accra Initiative has discussed with any partner, any such request nor contemplated the involvement of foreign forces in any of their activities,” the statement from the Ministry stressed.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Why Jerry Rawlings staged a bloody coup in 1979

    The events of May 15, 1979 during a mutiny attempt by some junior rank officers of the Ghana Armed Forces set the tone for what would later become a bloody usurping of the then government.

    The Supreme Military Council which deposed a democratically elected government in October 1972, witnessed a palace coup which saw General I. K. Acheampong losing his position as the Head of State.

    General Acheampong was replaced with his deputy, Lieutenant General Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo to form a new version of the Supreme Military Council.

    Despite the promise and plans for elections to be held in June 1979, Rawlings who was a junior officer in the Ghana Air Force with the rank of Flight Lieutenant on May 15, 1979, led six other soldiers to stage a coup against the government of General Akuffo.

    Their attempt however failed and Rawlings who was arrested by the military was publicly sentenced to death in a General Court Martial and imprisoned, although his statements on the social injustices that motivated his actions won him civilian sympathy.

    While awaiting execution, Rawlings was released from custody on 4 June 1979 by a group of soldiers and subsequently staged a successful coup against the Akuffo Government and the Supreme Military Council.

    The immediate actions of the 15-member Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) chaired by Jerry John Rawlings included the execution of several senior military officers and former heads of state who had been accused of corruption and contributing to economic decline and impoverishment of the Ghanaian people.

    Generals Kotei, Joy Amedume, Roger Felli, and Utuka, as well as the three former Ghanaian heads of state; Acheampong, Akuffo, and Akwasi Afrifa were all executed by firing squad.

    The underlining reasons for toppling the government and the subsequent executions that followed largely bordered on corruption by SMC members.

    Despite the promise to return the country to civilian rule, the SMC was seen as attempting to hang on to power.

    To the likes of Jerry John Rawlings and other junior rank officers, the military had become discredited in the eyes of the public and needed a housecleaning.

    Lower ranking members in the military deemed members of the SMC as guilty of corruption and ought to be brought to trial.

    The conduct of General Akuffo did not paint a good picture of himself as probes and inquiries into state enterprises by Akuffo’s government saw no actual prosecutions to the dismay of many.

    Deposed General Acheampong was also not brought to trial by the SMC II and merely lost his army retirement benefits.

    In all, the SMC was deemed as not committed to reforms and that their members were guaranteed immunity in any legal proceedings that were to be brought against them in connection to their dealings and finances.

    Beyond the killing of the SMC members, Rawlings later implemented a much wider “house-cleaning exercise” involving the killings and abduction of over 300 Ghanaians.

  • Withdrawal of my military protection politically motivated – Bagbin

    The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has resurrected the issue about the withdrawal of his military protection as he describes the action as politically motivated.

    Mr. Bagbin who questioned the basis for the action says it is puzzling that the state maintained what he calls battalion for the Electoral Commission Boss even after withdrawing the few military personnel attached to his office.

    The Ghana Armed Forces in January withdrew the military personnel attached to the security detail of the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin.

    Government has dismissed suggestions that the withdrawal of the military attachment to the Speaker of Parliament by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is an attempt to stifle his protection.

    But speaking on the issue publicly for the first time during an engagement with the parliamentary press corps, Mr Bagbin listed a number of individuals whose offices are relatively below that of the speaker of Parliament yet enjoying military protection.

    “The Chief Justice has a military, as well as Ministers, have their own and each Supreme Court Judge but the EC Chair has a battalion. My brothers at the Ministry of Defense and Interior both have and the Attorney General has his own. The same as the Minister for Finance but the Speaker is not entitled to a military,” he bemoaned.

    “When I was second deputy Speaker, the Office of the same President approved his staff sergeant to by military attaché. For four good years, the staff sergeant was with me.

    “Now, I’ve been elected as the Speaker, which is a higher position, and the same president says I’m not entitled to military attachment,” Mr. Bagbin lamented.

    Nonetheless, Mr. Bagbin assured the public his security is guaranteed regardless of the withdrawal of the military attachment.

     

  • Withdrawal of my military protection politically motivated – Bagbin

    The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has resurrected the issue about the withdrawal of his military protection as he describes the action as politically motivated.

    Mr. Bagbin who questioned the basis for the action says it is puzzling that the state maintained what he calls battalion for the Electoral Commission Boss even after withdrawing the few military personnel attached to his office.

    The Ghana Armed Forces in January withdrew the military personnel attached to the security detail of the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin for his protection

    Government has dismissed suggestions that the withdrawal of the military attachment to the Speaker of Parliament by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is an attempt to stifle his protection.

    But speaking on the issue publicly for the first time during an engagement with the parliamentary press corps, Mr Bagbin listed a number of individuals whose offices are relatively below that of the speaker of Parliament yet enjoying military protection.

    “The Chief Justice has a military, as well as Ministers, have their own and each Supreme Court Judge but the EC Chair has a battalion. My brothers at the Ministry of Defense and Interior both have and the Attorney General has his own. The same as the Minister for Finance but the Speaker is not entitled to a military,” he bemoaned.

    Nonetheless, Mr. Bagbin assured the public his security is guaranteed regardless of the withdrawal of the military attachment.

    starrfm.com

  • NPP MP strangely reads coup meanings into Mahama’s plea to military

    Habid Iddrisu, a member of parliament from the New Patriotic Party representing the Tolon Constituency, has accused former president John Dramani Mahama of trying to instill the notion of overthrowing the government in the minds of the Ghana Armed Forces.

    When he repeated a request from President Akufo-Addo that the Armed Forces should uphold the constitution despite the current economic suffering in the nation, the MP who also serves as the deputy majority chief whip in parliament said that Mr. Mahama rather intended to fuel the idea of a coup d’etat.

    “Mr sister talked about a call made by President John Mahama that the military should remain in the barracks. That is a very dangerous call to be made by a former president,” he stated.

    Appearing as a guest on the Saturday, October 29, 2022, edition of Joynewsfile, Mr Iddrisu argued that while President Akufo-Addo in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the armed forces was justified in making the call, the same cannot be said for the former president.

    “I am talking about John Mahama’s own. President (Akufo-Addo) is the commander in chief; if I am the commander in chief he is more or less giving you an instruction. So if you are not a commander in chief and you are also saying something you are triggering something else,” he said.

    “I say so because you are triggering and planting other thinking in people’s minds. That stay in the barracks in the times that we are in, you are planting the notion of coup in them,” he added.

    President Akufo-Addo in a recent engagement with some high-ranking military officials urged the Armed Forces to remain loyal to the 1992 Constitution as his government works around the clock to fix current economic hardship.

    “I want to encourage you to continue the good work that you’re doing for our country. I encourage you to stand firm in your loyalty to the Republic, your loyalty to the Constitution of our nation so that the orderly, peaceful development of our country which is the only way that can guarantee the future prosperity we are all working for can come about…. So that these [present] generations of Ghanaians will leave as our legacy, that even when things were difficult in Ghana, we all held together under our Republican institutions and our constitution to find a way to a better future for our nation. I am confident that we can do it and I am counting on you to help me do it,” the president said during the meeting with the officials at the Idris Barracks in the Ashanti Region.

    In the same vein, former President Mahama while delivering an address on the state of the economy last week, reiterated President Akufo-Addo’s call.

    Addressing a public lecture themed, ‘Building the Ghana We Want,’ on October 27, 2022, in Accra, Mahama admonished especially the Armed Forces and other security services against unconstitutional takeovers.

    “… let me state that I agree with the President and wish to add my voice to his call on our Armed Forces and security services to remain loyal to the State and the Constitution.

    “The current economic circumstances though dire, do not give [an] excuse for any acts that are unconstitutional. Working together as one people and using the levers of the constitution, we can turn this situation around,” he submitted to loud applause from the audience at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, UPSA; auditorium.

    As part of his presentation, the 2020 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, outlined a number of short, medium and long-term solutions to the current economic crisis that the government was grappling with.

     

  • Infection prevention and control shouldn’t be one day affair – Brig Gen. Ewusi

    Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in hospitals should not be a one day affair but a continuous activity for the safety of patients and staff, Brigadier General Raymond Ewusi, Director General, Ghana Armed Forces Medical Service, has said.

    He said it was important for the health institutions to continue to maintain the highest standards in IPC to ensure the total wellbeing of patients and health professionals.

    Brig. Gen. Ewusi made the remarks at the closing ceremony of the International Infection Prevention and Control Week held at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.

    The Week, dubbed: “WASH-IPC”, is celebrated annually on October 17 to 21.

    Activities including competitive inspections were undertaken at the various wards to ensure compliance with of acceptable standards.

    He commended the staff of the Hospital for their hard work, adding: “Indeed, it is your efforts that continue to contribute towards making the 37 Military Hospital one of the best facilities in Ghana.”

    Brig Gen Ewusi observed that the continuous education on infection prevention and control and adherence to the standards by patients, visitors and staff had led to an increase in the patronage of the facility’s services.

    “Your quest to explore new opportunities of awareness creation in IPC has been very commendable.”

    Captain E.O. Nyarko, Officer In Charge of Public Health at the Hospital, noted that adherence to the highest standards in infection prevention had helped in conquering threats of infectious diseases.

    He said the hospital would continue to uphold those  standards to secure the well-being of patients and health professionals.

    During the week-long celebration, 28 professionals were trained on new dimensions to overcome emerging challenges in infection control.

    Awards were presented to the various wards and individuals who distinguished themselves during the inspections.

    Source: GNA  

  • Meet Adolf Hitler’s top personal pilot who was also Nkrumah’s pilot

    In Ghana, the name Hanna Reitsch may not readily mean much to most people, but it is a name that has relevance because of her direct link to Kwame Nkrumah.

    The German pilot is considered one of the few people to have seen Adolf Hitler, the German dictator who ruled with iron hands, alive.

    But more relevant to Ghana is that while Hanna Reitsch was Hitler’s pilot, she also served as Ghana’s presidential pilot, flying the country’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, until his government was toppled.

    Hanna Reitsch’s link to Ghana:

    The first time Hanna came to Ghana was in the 1960s.

    This was after she was sponsored by the West German foreign office as a technical adviser in Ghana and elsewhere, according to wikipedia.com.

    Other details shared by the Daily Graphic showed that Hanna Reitsch, described as a “mysterious” woman, arrived in the country during the 1962 independence celebration.

    In its caption on her arrival, the newspaper captioned it as, “The Lady Who Dares the Heaven,” with the general assumption that she was in for a visit and would leave after the anniversary.

    However, it emerged that Kwame Nkrumah had other plans. The details showed that Nkrumah had sold the idea of relocating to Ghana and overseeing the country’s aviation development to Hanna Reitsch.

    As a German war hero, she is reported to have agreed and went on to pitch camp in Ghana for the rest of Nkrumah’s government.

    With Reitsch in the saddle, Nkrumah is said to have set in motion his plans for Ghana’s aviation. Historical records also show that Reitsch founded the first African national gliding school at Afienya.

    While overseeing her training of male and female pilots at the school, Hanna Reitsch also worked with the Ghana Armed Forces as an instructor and imparted her knowledge.

    Reitsch’s operation in Ghana had the approval of the then-West German government.

    Reitsch’s official role was as a technical advisor, but she went beyond that. History indicates that she became Nkrumah’s most preferred and trusted pilot.

    Between 1962 and 1666, when the Kwame Nkrumah government was toppled, Reitsch lived in Ghana and flew with Kwame Nkrumah.

    Who was Hanna Reitsch?

    Born in Hirschberg, Silesia, of the German Empire, on March 29, 1912, to an upper-middle-class family, Hanna Reitsch, was the daughter of Dr. Wilhelm (Willy) Reitsch, who was an ophthalmology clinic manager, and his wife, Emy Helff-Hibler von Alpenheim, who was a member of the Austrian nobility.

    Details on wikipedia.com show that her mother was a devout Catholic, and so she was raised as a protestant. She had two siblings, her brother Kurt, a frigate captain, and her younger sister Heidi. Reitsch began flight training in 1932 at the School of Gliding in Grunau.

    While a medical student in Berlin, she enrolled in a German Air Mail amateur flying school for powered aircraft at Staaken, training in a Klemm Kl 25.

    Along with Melitta von Stauffenberg, she flight tested many of Germany’s new aircraft during World War II and received many honours. Reitsch was among the very last people to meet Adolf Hitler alive in the Führerbunker in late April 1945.

    Reitsch set more than 40 flight altitude records and women’s endurance records in gliding and unpowered flight, before and after World War II.

  • Abu Jinapor’s statement on the role of military in galamsey fight misconstrued – Lands Ministry

    The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has stated that a statement by the sector Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor about the role of the Ghana Armed Forces in the fight against illegal mining (galamsey) has been misreported by a section of the media.

    In a statement dated Friday, October 14, 2022, the Public Affairs Directorate of the Ministry said the the statement made by the minister at a press conference on Thursday had been misconstrued in some media reports.

    “The attention of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been drawn to publications in a section of the media to the effect that the military is to be blamed or held responsible for any failures in the fight against illegal mining. These publications attribute this comment to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, MP, during his Press Update on the fight against illegal mining at the Ministry of Information on Thursday, 13th October, 2022.

    “While the Ministry welcomes and commends the Ghanaian media for their interest and enthusiasm in matters involving illegal mining, for the avoidance of doubt, the Minister did NOT say the military is to be blamed or held responsible for any failures in the fight against illegal mining. What the Minister said was to the effect that the military has been put fully in charge of the operations on the ground. Accordingly, they are to carry out their mission without interference from any person whatsoever. They are to take instructions only from the military high command on matters relating to the ongoing operations, and in accordance with their established command and control structures,” the ministry said.

    “The above comments have, obviously, been misunderstood by a section of the media,” the statement added.

    We will fish out, prosecute galamsey kingpins – Abu Jinapor

    The ministry emphasised its confidence in the Ghana Armed Forces in leading the fight against Galamsey, saying it has “has absolute confidence in the professionalism, Capability and integrity of the Ghana Armed Forces to accomplish this mission.”

    At the press conference on Thursday, the land’s minister outlined various measures by the government to deal with the canker of illegal mining.

    Mr Jinapor told the press that the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo remains resolute in the fight against galamsey, which is threatening several of Ghana’s water and river bodies.

     

  • Military solely responsible for the success or failure of fight against galamsey – Abu Jinapor

    The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, says the Ghana Armed Forces should be held responsible for either the success or the failure of the fight against galamsey.

    According to him, whereas his Ministry is involved with formulating the legal framework and policies that guide the activities of miners in the country, the military is responsible for the implementation of same.

    This, he says, implies that the Military is supposed to act independently in policing the activities of miners in the country and preventing illegal miners from taking control of mining communities and concessions.

    He made these comments on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen on Thursday, October 13.

    “This time around it’s been made abundantly clear, we, and for that matter myself as the Minister and Ministry and other stakeholders, are responsible for formulating the policies relating to mining, which is actually what it should be.

    “But when it comes to the implementation of the enforcement regime or the enforcement mechanism by the Ghana Armed Forces, they are supposed to do so independent of the Ministry and of any other entity; Chiefs, religious leaders, influential people, journalists, Members of Parliament, Ministers of State, political leaders.

    “Military people are not supposed to take any instruction from anybody. I’ve never done that anyway, even in the past, but I’m saying no interference whatsoever,” he said.

    He revealed that the Military has since been furnished with the full list of all licensed small scale mining concessions and would be effecting the arrest of all those who do not appear on the list but are engaged in mining activities.

    “And actually what we’ve done is that my Ministry has furnished them with the full list of all licensed small scale mining concessions and that’s what they’re going to work with. So if they go and they find out that you’re not part of the list they’re supposed to clamp you down and nobody is to interfere.

    “And the good thing about it is that the military now will be accountable and responsible for the law enforcement results for this particular effort and of this particular phase. So if it doesn’t go well they have to be held responsible.

    “Because we have provided them with what they need and the framework, and the contours of the policy so they are now to implement it on the instructions of the President,” he said.

    Source: Myjoyonline

  • Our involvement in galamsey fight was very successful – Ghana Armed Forces

    The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has said its involvement in the fight against illegal mining in the country was a very successful one and something that Ghanaians would not believe really happened.

    The military also described their role in the fight against the menace as massive and unbelievable.

    “There is a lot of success being achieved and I think that is not what comes out most of the time because in terms of the operations that we conduct, ideally, it shouldn’t be something that we report on an everyday basis that will come up with certain situations and report to Ghana”. Director Public Relations Ghana Armed Forces, Naval Captain Michael Addo Larbi said this in an interview with Citi TV monitored by MyNewsGh.com.

    “In terms of the roles of the armed forces and the number of seizure of excavators that we do, some that have been immobilized or destroyed and the number of equipment in terms of structures are massive. It is not something that you would even believe that this is what was going on”, Naval Captain Michael Addo Larbi added.

    The statement comes from the military comes a few days after the President of the Republic Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo addressed the House of Chiefs in Kumasi on the fight against illegal mining and the way out.

    Naval Captain Michael Addo Larbi further noted that, there is more to be done as a country in the fight against illegal mining adding that, there should be a collaborative effort by all stakeholders.

    “But there is a lot of success being achieved. There is more to be done but a collaborative effort is what is needed at this material time”., he urged.