The masked men in the police vehicle
The Ghana Police Service (GPS) is not to be blamed for the Ayawaso West Wuogon poll incidence that resulted in six people sustaining various degrees of injuries, Interior Minister Ambrose Dery has said.
In an interesting twist to the violence witnessed during the recently held by-election, Mr. Dery revealed that the Ghana Police Service did not play any role in the disturbances although the attire of the fully armed masked men had the inscription ‘Police SWAT’ on it.
The vehicle they came in with was also being driven by a uniformed officer of the Ghana Police Service.
He, however, explained that the official report sent to him by the IGP revealed that the masked men in khaki uniforms are not personnel of the Ghana Police Service.
“As reported to me, by the IGP, who was in charge of the operations, I will say that there were police deployed and there were also officers of the Ghana Immigration Service, also deployed in the 137 polling stations. That is what I know…”
For him the, Ghana Police Service which falls under his jurisdiction had no hand in the operations of the masked men who have been widely described in the media as party vigilantes aligned to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Answering question about his knowledge of the deployment of masked men to the polling station, he stated that he had no idea of the operation of the masked men, adding that he only saw them on national television.
“…I first saw on TV some persons dressed in khaki and some of them wearing masks and armed… and when I got the video, I forwarded it to the police and he said these are not part of my men. I later got information that an officer of National Security had said that they were National Security operatives,” he said.
Bearing witness before the commission on the first day it its work, Mr. Dery explained that political vigilantism is illegal and must be dealt with at all costs since it has the potential to affect the country’s peace and stability.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri