THE government has agreed to compensate bereaved families and victims of electoral violence that occurred between 2020 and 2024, the Minister for the Interior, Mr Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has disclosed.
He said the decision followed the findings of a Special Investigation Task Force (SITF) set up by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) under the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to investigate election-related fatalities during the 2020 and 2024 general elections.
Addressing journalists in Accra, Mr Mubarak explained that while the report firmly established that incidents of electoral violence occurred during both elections, it was unable to identify specific individuals responsible for some of the violent acts—particularly the Techiman South shooting in 2020, which resulted in fatalities.
He explained that due to the inability to trace the specific weapon or individual responsible for that incident, the State would assume responsibility for compensating the bereaved families and injured victims.
“The government cannot allow these families to suffer in silence. Since conclusive evidence could not be established against any one person or group, it is only fair that the State bears the cost of the harm caused,” he stated.
The Minister revealed that the task force report covered electoral violence in 12 constituencies across the country, which resulted in 15 deaths and 40 injuries. He added that dockets on the cases had been forwarded to the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice for further legal action.
In all, 50 soldiers and a number of police personnel were interrogated in connection with the violence. Some of the suspects identified were already facing trial, while others had been granted bail pending further investigations.
Currently, two police officers — Richard Otoo and Emmanuel Dompreh — have been committed to stand trial for murder before the Accra High Court (Criminal Court 1).
Mr Mubarak admitted that some of the deaths and injuries during both the 2020 and 2024 elections could have been avoided if security personnel had refrained from using firearms for crowd control.
Additionally, he noted that the use of live ammunition in electoral disputes was inappropriate and contrary to professional crowd management procedures.
On the Techiman South incident, the Minister disclosed that ballistic investigations failed to establish which weapon caused the deaths or injuries because spent shells were not retrieved and no bullets or projectiles were extracted from the bodies of the deceased.
He further cited the Ablekuma Central Constituency incident in the Greater Accra Region, where one Abass Dauda was shot and killed by a soldier. The Ghana Armed Forces, however, could not identify the soldier responsible for the shooting.
“The report described the incident as avoidable, as the disagreement between the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress occurred outside the collation centre,” he added.
Mr Mubarak also referenced the Dormaa West incident during the 2020 voter registration mop-up exercise, in which one Kofi Gabriel was killed.
The task force recommended compensation for Gabriel’s family, noting that there was no justification for the use of lethal force, as no officer was under attack.
To prevent a recurrence, the report recommended that the police receive intensive training in non-lethal crowd control techniques and be adequately equipped with modern crowd management tools.
It also proposed an end to the use of the military for crowd control duties and called for sustained education for political party executives, election officials, and stakeholders on the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999).
Moreover, Mr Mubarak assured that the Ministry remained committed to implementing the recommendations of the report and strengthening inter-agency collaboration to safeguard lives and property in future elections.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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