Ghana IGP given two weeks to investigate Kenyase demo.

 

Speaker of Parliament Edward Doe Adjaho has given the Inspector General of Police (IGP) two weeks within which to investigate circumstances that led to violent clashes between police officers and demonstrators in Kenyase and Duase in the Ashanti Region last Monday.

The Speaker gave the directive on Friday, February 7, 2014 after Member of Parliament for the Kwabre East Constituency, Kofi Frempong, in a statement condemned the action of the police, accusing them of traumatizing school children who have since the clashes refused to turn up for school.

“Mr Speaker, the demonstrators were within their constitutional rights to demonstrate and did not breach any law since they gave the required notice to the police,” the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP said on the floor.

“What is unacceptable and must be condemned was when the police, in their pursuit of fleeing demonstrators, attacked a cluster of schools where some of the demonstrators had taken refuge. Not even the pleadings of the teachers could calm the police in their quest to teach the demonstrators a lesson,” he added.

Speaker Adjaho directed that a copy of Mr Frempong’s statement be made available to the office of the IGP, Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan.

“I direct that the statement be forwarded to the office of the Inspector General of Police to begin investigations of what happened in Kenyase and report to the House within two weeks.”

The Speaker said he would discuss with leadership on what to do next when the report of the investigation is made known to Parliament.

The demonstrators in Kenyase and Duase were protesting the bad nature of the Kumasi-Antoa road.

Though it was reported that deaths had been recorded, the police denied the reports but admitted some were admitted seriously injured at the Manhyia and Komfo Anokye Teaching hospitals.