Yesterday, Ashaiman received a working visit from the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defense and Interior.
The visit comes in response to the alleged murder of a soldier, Sherif Imoro, 21, on March 4.
Kennedy Agyapong, the committee’s chairman, stated that the visit was made so that the committee could become familiar with the occurrence, which has now become a topic of national discussion.
In order to express their condolences to the soldier’s parents, the team, which included the Minister of Defense, Dominic Nitiwul, visited the deceased’s family in Zongo Laka, an Ashiaman neighborhood.
The committee also spoke to a group of locals, some of whom had been hurt by the violence that had followed the soldier’s death.
DONATION/MEMBERS
Members of the Wa West Member of Parliament (MP), Peter Lanchene Toobu; Buem MP, Kofi Adams; Talensi MP, Benson Baba Tongo; Zebilla MP, Cletus Apul Avoka; Builsa North MP, James Agalga; and Ashaiman MP, Henry Ernest Norgbey were also on the committee.
The committee sent money to the soldier’s family, and Abdul A., the soldier’s younger brother, was given a scholarship up to tertiary level by the committee’s chairman.
Imoro, while Mr. Agyapong has additionally committed to building a cutting-edge astroturf that will be named after the fallen soldier.
Aside from the entitlement of the fallen soldier, which would be calculated and sent to the family later, the committee’s chairman also personally donated money to the mourning family. The military also gave a monetary payment to the family.
Mr. Agyapong expressed regret and sadness at the soldier’s passing and the brutality that followed. He expressed sympathy for the family and emphasized that the committee will use the information gleaned from the visit to carry out its work and make the required recommendations.
He asked the family to remain composed and to trust the authorities to look into the incident, identify the offenders, and bring them to justice.
Mr. Nitiwul urged the Ashaiman leaders and youth who share a border with the First Battalion of Infantry, Michel Camp, to continue working closely with the soldiers in order to strengthen the civil-military relationship.
“Let this be the last time men and women in uniform will be killed in the hands of people they (uniformed persons) seek to protect,” he pleaded, promising support for the bereaved family throughout their grieving process.
OVERSIGHT
Mr. Agalga, the committee’s ranking member, expressed sympathy on behalf of the committee and the entire Parliament to the family of the fallen soldier and the victims of the atrocities.
He said that as part of its oversight duties, Parliament would carefully assess the information obtained from the visit and issue the necessary recommendations.
Emmanuel Kumadey, a member of a pressure group going by the name Ashaiman Lives Matter, briefed the committee members on brutalities and provided evidence to the committee in the form of medical records, images of the abused people, and police reports.
Mr. Kumadey revealed that Alhaji Mohammed Musah, one of the victims of the military abuse, passed away three days ago as a result of his wounds.