Committee On Taifa Shooting Gives Report to Gov't

Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Acting Minister of Interior, last week received a 200-page report from the Committee on the Taifa killing, chaired by Prof. Ivan Adae-Mensah, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, at his offices in Accra.

The five-member committee was set up by President J.A. Kufuor on 26th July, 2002, to probe the circumstances under which four members of a watchdog committee and a taxi driver at Taifa were mistaken for armed robbers and shot dead in June this year, by the joint Police/Military night patrol team.

Dr. Addo-Kufuor said the report is the "beginning of a judicial process" and would be handed over to the Attorney General.

He said after the Attorney General has thoroughly read and studied the report, he would advise the Ministry of Interior and the government on the procedures to follow.

He said based on the advice of the Attorney General, the laws of the country would be obeyed and applied.

The Attorney General Nana Akufo-Addo, after receiving the report from the Ag. Minister of Interior, gave the assurance that he would work diligently to ensure that the report is completed at the right time and promised that he would allow transparency to prevail.

He said the case is a very complex and sensitive matter and as soon as he completes his part, he would advise the government on what steps to follow.

Prof. Ivan Adae-Mensah, Chairman of the Committee, talking to the press after the presentation said 50 witnesses drawn from Taifa, the Police Service and Armed Forces appeared before the committee, which took two weeks to sit on the case. They visited the scene of the incident to examine elements that could help in their findings. He lauded the witnesses for co-operating with the committee.

He said though they were to present the report within two weeks, the committee had to use another three weeks for analysing, drawing conclusions and writing the report to ensure accuracy in their work.

Prof. Adae-Mensah said the report is in two volumes. Volume one, which is 44 pages, is on what happened and how it happened. Volume two is a record of the evidence, and is 143 pages plus an appendix. The committee also gave the Ag. Minister 20 recorded tapes and photo albums of evidence at the scene.

Other members of the committee are; Mr. Mumuni Abdullai Bawomia - Ministry of Interior, Mr. Jacob Acquah-Sampson - Ghana Bar Association, Chief Superintendent Patrick Timbilla - Criminal Investigation Department and Commander Stephen Darko - Ghana Armed Forces General Headquarters.