Justice Emile Short
The Commission of Enquiry established by government to conduct investigations into circumstances surrounding the violence-dotted by-election in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency starts work today.
In this light, it has invited memoranda from members of the public.
The Commission’s Secretary, Kofi Abotsi, has asked that members of the public who wish to submit information, statements or other memoranda should do so through its address-commissionwuogon@gmail.com or deliver them by hand.
Hearings would begin today and memoranda and statements must reach the Commission on or before 20th February 2019.
The coming days would be fraught with interesting developments, as the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has made statements suggesting that they would not cooperate with the Commission.
With the power to subpoena persons, who in the view of the Commission have important information to assist them in their work, it remains to be seen whether under such circumstances too NDC leaders would not show up, as they had said in the media.
One personality, Sam George, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram Constituency, would definitely be required by the Commission to make an appearance before them.
He was very active during the bloody melee which erupted at the warehouse where the shootings took place on the fateful day.
It was Sam George, who announced that there were fatalities; a story which turned out to be false after it had gone virile on social media.
It took a police announcement to calm nerves after news about the fatalities agitated some persons.
While the opposition NDC is challenging the integrity of the Commission- the reason behind their non-cooperation stance, members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) are asking that the scope of the commission be expanded to cover the previous violence-prone by-elections.
They claim the Talensi, Akwatia, Chereponi and Atiwa by-elections witnessed violence nowhere near the restricted one in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.
Members of the Commission are Justice Emile Short, one-time head of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Prof Henrietta Bonsu, a law professor and member of the United Nations Independent Panel on Peace Operations and Patrick Acheampong, former Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Prof Kofi Abotsi, former Dean of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Law School, was also appointed as secretary of the Commission.
Prof Kofi Abotsi, former Dean of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Law School, was also appointed as secretary of the Commission.
By A.R. Gomda