FixTheCountry files RTI request for Akufo-Addo’s role in military brutality at Ashaiman

Pressure group, FixTheCountry, on Monday, March 13, 2023, filed a Right to Information request at the Office of the President in connection with President Akufo-Addo’s role in the decision to deploy military personnel to brutalise civilians at Ashaiman following the murder of a soldier in the area.

Personnel from the GAF, in a sanctioned operation, stormed Ashaiman in the early hours of March 7, 2023, where they subjected civilians to inhumane treatment for the alleged murder of a colleague, Trooper Ibrahim Moro, 21 years old.

The action of the military has been widely condemned, but the President has not said a word about it.

The Police in its intelligence-led operation after arresting six suspects, said the victim was stabbed when he refused to hand over his mobile phone and bag to his attackers on the said day.

FixTheCountry per the request is asking the following:

a. Did the President, as Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces authorize, approve or participate in the decision of the Military High Command to deploy a military contingent or unit to certain neighbourhoods in Ashaiman in the early hours of 7th March 2023?

b. If the answer to the above is no, was the President, as Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, informed of the decision of the Military High Command to deploy a military contingent or unit to certain neighbourhoods in Ashaiman in the early hours of March 7, 2023, before the contingent was deployed.

c. Has the President, as Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, taken any punitive or disciplinary actions in connection with the brutalities and massive violations of human rights violations that took place when the military contingent attacked civilians in certain neighbourhoods of Ashaiman in connection with the decision of the Military High Command to deploy a military contingent or unit to certain neighbourhoods in Ashaiman in the early hours of March 7, 2023.

According to the Right to Information Act, the president must respond to the request within 14 days of the request.

FixTheCountry says it intends to pursue the necessary courses of action that exist under law to force disclosure of the requested information.