The late Ibrahim Mohammed, aka Macho Kaaka
The three-member committee which investigated the mayhem that rocked Ejura in the Ejura/Sekyedumase District of the Ashanti Region, leading to the killing of two people and injuries to four others, on June 29, has submitted its report.
The report was presented yesterday to the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, who had set up the committee on the instructions of President Akufo-Addo.
The minister said he was not ready to disclose the content of the report until he has studied and submitted it to the President.
Purported Recommendation
Snippets from the report indicate that the committee has recommended that the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipal Chief Executive, Mohammed Salisu Bamba, should be removed from office.
The MCE is on record to have said before the report came out that, he is not even interested in seeking to retain his position following the violence.
The military officer who led the soldiers to quell the violence has been penciled to face sanctions as well as the transfer of the District Police Commander for Ejura-Sekyedumase, DSP Philip Hammond.
The families of the deceased and the injured are also to benefit from compensation per the committee’s recommendations.
For the future of policing in Ejura, the committee recommended an upgrading of police infrastructure at Ejura and the expansion of the police force in Ejura.
To help the community, the committee also recommended the creation of community centres under the Zongo Development Fund.
Main Work
The committee that held daily public sittings, taking testimonies from witnesses, was chaired by Court of Appeal judge, Justice George Kingsley Koomson, with Security Analyst, Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, and the Executive Director of Penplusbytes, Juliet Amoah for civil society organisations while Marie Louise Simmons, a Principal State Attorney was secretary to the committee.
The committee inquired into the circumstances that led to the shooting of the two civilians namely: Abdul Nasir Yussif and Murtala Mohammed, by military personnel during a violent demonstration by angry youth of Ejura, following the death of Ibrahim Mohammed aka Macho Kaaka, a social media activist.
Kaaka had been attacked by unknown people on the night of June 26 and was on admission at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi but died on Monday, June 28, and by the next day, his death had triggered violence in Ejura.
The military had been called in to quell the violence after it became obvious the police could not contain the situation.
Already, three people namely Fuseini Alhassan, Issaka Ibrahim and Idi Mohammed, who is believed to be the brother of Kaaka, have been appearing before a circuit court in Kumasi, charged with conspiracy and murder in connection with Kaaka’s death.
Report Presentation
Presenting the report, Justice Koomson said “we knew that it was a very delicate assignment with huge national expectation. We can assure you that we attached serious importance to the task we were given and treated every issue with meticulous attention and detail.”
He added that, “Having assured ourselves after listening to 22 witnesses and reviewed volumes of documents including audio and videos, we have come with our findings and proffered some recommendations. And we hope the government through your good self (minister) will give a good ear to them and try to accept and implement them.”
Official Receipt
Receiving the report on behalf of government, the Minister of the Interior conveyed the gratitude of government to the committee for the work done.
He said, the findings of the report were “a matter of immense public interest” and assured that “we will take the report very very (sic) seriously.”
He added that he would study the report first and then submit it to the President, saying “at the appropriate time, we will make the report public and available for people to express their opinions on it.”
The minister also commended sections of the public for ‘stepping up’ to demand key witnesses to appear before the committee to testify even when some said the committee did not have the ‘coercive powers’ to get anyone to testify.
To Justice Koomson and his team, the minister said “this country owes you for the good work that you’ve done. I believe this report will help us resolve conflicting stories and above all contribute to better the security situation of the country.”
Prior to the presentation, the committee had met briefly with the minister behind closed doors. Journalists were invited about 12:30pm where a brief presentation was done but the details of the report were not disclosed.
President’s Order
Barely 24 hours after the deadly scenes, President Akufo-Addo, had instructed the Minister of the Interior, “to conduct, forthwith, a Public Inquiry into the circumstances that led to the unfortunate occurrences of Tuesday, June 29, 2021.”
The statement which was signed by Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications at the Presidency said “the Interior Minister is to provide a detailed report from the Inquiry, with recommendations for appropriate action, within ten days, i.e., by July 9, 2021, to President Akufo-Addo,” adding, “The President is deeply saddened by the deaths of Ibrahim Mohammed, alias Macho Kaaka, Abdul Nasir Yussif and Murtala Mohammed. He extends sincere condolences to the families of the deceased, and wishes the injured a speedy recovery.”
The committee initially had 10 days to submit its report for the President to act on it, but in the course of the proceedings they asked for an extension of time which was duly granted by the minister.
A total of 22 witnesses appeared before the government committee and whilst rounding up their activities, Justice Koomson announced that out of the total number, 19 appeared before the committee in public and three others appeared in-camera due to security reasons.
He had said the committee officially kick-started it’s hearing on July 5, 2021 and ended on Friday, July 16, 2021, pointing out that prior to the sittings at the Prempeh Assembly Hall in Kumasi, the committee had visited Ejura to sensitise the people.
Evidence Received
According to him, 555 pictures in soft copies, 117 video evidence, eight documentary evidence, two written statements, two physical evidence in the nature of spent cartridges and one audio evidence were received from people.
Justice Koomson announced that the committee used three days to review the evidence obtained, stressing that in general, 12 days were used by the committee members to examine the evidence at hand.
Massive Patronage
According to him, the committee members, including himself, were satisfied by the number of people from Ejura, who took time to travel all the way to Kumasi and cooperated with the committee to undertake its core mandate.
“The people of Ejura duly participated and cooperated to make the committee’s work successful. At least, seventeen out of the 22 people that appeared before the committee in Kumasi were the people from Ejura and that is encouraging,” the judge said.
He also remarked that family members of the injured and deceased people as well as some of the demonstrators, appeared before the committee.
Cemetery Return
The violence started when the irate protesters who were returning from the cemetery after the burial of Macho Kaaka, started pelting stones at the few police personnel around.
They reportedly besieged the police station, vandalised some vehicles, and also blocked the Ejura-Atebubu highway, causing a gridlock.
The unprovoked attacks were rapidly getting out of hand so it compelled the few policemen to flee the scene and call for reinforcement, and a joint police and military team arrived quickly.
The security forces, who were armed-to-the-teeth, then started to fire bullets to disperse the angry crowd, who were then destroying all ruling New Patriotic Party items in the Ejura township, leading to the shooting of six people with two sudden deaths.
Initial Politics
The murder of Macho Kaaka was given a political twist when some people sought to politicise the subject by associating the deceased with the ‘#FixTheCountry’ campaign.
Even before the police could delve into the case, those claiming to lead the #FixTheCountry protesters had claimed that until the gruesome murder of Macho Kaaka, he was one of their organisers.
Before he was declared dead, they started making social media posts to the effect that one of the #FixTheCountry leaders had been beaten by people belonging to the government.
Mahama De-Escalation
Former President John Dramani Mahama waded into the unfortunate incident and appeared to create the impression that President Akufo-Addo was not doing anything about the situation.
He said in a statement that, “I urgently call on President Nana Akufo-Addo to initiate an immediate de-escalation of the situation in Ejura,” and added that “there must be a very thorough investigation of both the murder of the youth activist and the security rules of engagement, which resulted in the shooting to death of the two others.”
Subsequent Events
However, subsequent events are showing that the death of Macho Kaaka may not be linked to politics after all.
The assertion that he was murdered because he was criticising the government has since been debunked when it became clear that the deceased was not even a member of the #FixTheCountry political group.
Some have even claimed that Macho Kaaka was a supporter of the government and was a member of the NPP in good standing.
He was said to have even campaigned for one lady who is aspiring to become the next DCE of Ejura Sekyedumase.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio