The CDS responds to a Military Chant
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt. Gen Obed Akwa, was met with rage when he met officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) yesterday to assuage their pain following the callous murder of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama when he was jogging at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region on Monday.
The CDS made the appeal at an emergency meeting with ranks of the GAF at Burma Hall, Burma Camp in Accra.
The atmosphere at the hall was tense and the expression on the faces of the soldiers was that of anger, an indication that they wanted an opportunity to vent their anger on the murderers of their colleague.
Additionally, the soldiers did not see why the case should be handled by the Ghana police alone whereas the GAF has a Military Police (MP) Unit, which according to them, is very efficient in handling such high-profile crimes.
“We are the last resort in this country. If we allow ourselves to be beaten this way… as a Christian, by what Jesus said in Matthew 26 verse 52: ‘He who draws the sword must die by the sword,’” one fuming soldier stated.
This soldier was supported by a Muslim counterpart who supported his emotions with verses from the Quran to the applause of the soldiers present.
The soldiers were also impatient with the pace of the police investigation, which has so far seen seven suspects arrested for their alleged roles in the murder.
They were especially mindful of the videos of the gruesome act on social media, and wondered why the military police could not take over.
“We have military police. It is not in every instance that we allow the civilian police to be telling us about evidence. You have seen something clearly and you are telling me about evidence. What more evidence do you want from this? The Ghana Armed Forces has the military police. We can handle our things. It is not everything that you take to the civilian police,” one of them averred.
Some of the soldiers also called for a total boycott and discontinuation of all anti-lumbering and anti-galamsey operations.
“I will suggest we leave the work for the police to also carry out so that we come back to our barracks,” one soldier suggested.
Calm
The CDS, in an affectionate mood, impressed upon them to accept what had happened as a challenge and a test of their efficiency and not anything which is beyond their capabilities.
“Every operation has its challenges and the nature of our mandate to defend our country against external invasion while supporting internal security like the police cannot be discontinued; however, we can call for a review of the rules of engagement, “he stated.
Lt. Gen. Akwa further stated that the GAF was working very closely with the police to ensure that the perpetrators of the gruesome act were brought to face the law and appropriate punishment meted out to them.
Speaking on the welfare and future of the deceased’s immediate family, the CDS gave the assurance that the GAF would play its role as required, adding that a number of philanthropists and international groups had been finding out from him how they could support the family.
While expressing appreciation to the Commander in-Chief of the GAF, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr. Bawumia, the clergy and civil society groups, among others, for their respective assurances and solidarity, he also appealed to social media patrons to stop posting images on the criminal act since that creates embarrassment to the bereaved family.
Capt. Maxwell Adam Mahama was on military detachment at the Denkyiri-Obuasi area.
The people in the community claimed he was an armed robber and lynched him.
He is survived by a wife and two children.
By Solomon Ofori