Residents of Kajelo in the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region have appealed to the Inspector General of Police to investigate brutalities visited on them by some personnel of the Ghana Police Service on Thursday (18 November).
The residents said armed security personnel in police clothing suspected to have been dispatched from the regional police command cordoned the area in an operation to retrieve missing police accoutrement from another community and in the process manhandled some of them.
The residents said attempts to let the armed officers understand that Kajelo was not part of the Baloo-Kayilo electoral area which was their target, rather angered the officers who went further to torch a motorcycle and brutalize dozens of community members.
They said the brutality led to 13 members of the community sustaining various degrees of injuries and the unlawful detainment of seven others.
According to them, the 13 people are currently on admission at the Paga District Hospital receiving treatment.
Assemblyman for the Kajelo electoral area, Hilary Aniakwo who addressed the media said “the actions of the police was unprofessional, barbaric and uncultured.
“You cannot come and invade the Kajelo electoral area and beat innocent people for doing nothing wrong. The innocent citizens were in the community doing their duties.”
Aniakwo added, “We are using this medium to call the IGP, Dampare, the regional minister and regional police commander, to institute an investigation into what happened in the Kajelo electoral area Thursday 18 November 2021.”
“Transfer the police commander”
The residents are, therefore, demanding the immediate transfer of the Paga District police commander, who they accused of being behind the brutalities.
“We are not in a military regime. We are in a democratic system. The people of Kajelo will not sit and allow the brutality go free. We are therefore demanding the Paga police commander be fired. He must be fired from the Paga command.” Aniakwo said.
But responding to the allegations, the Upper East Regional police public relations officer, ASP David Fianko-Okyere, denied any wrongdoing by the police.
He said the officers rather deployed to the Baloo-Kayilo area to retrieve barricades that had been taken by some residents who protested the siting of a police snap checkpoint in the area.
He assured that the police would investigate the incident.
Senyalah Castro
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