Int. Human Rights Day: When the protectors become the abusers – The case of the Ghana Police

As a law enforcement agency in the country, the Ghana Police Service by its mandate is to ensure that the human rights of all persons in the country recognised in article 5 of the 1992 constitution are respected and upheld.

Whilst the Ghana Police Service has chalked major strides in satisfying this mandate, there have been instances of contrariness that can certainly not be overlooked.

The reason is that in those instances, not only were people’s rights violated but the perpetrators of such acts were officials of the law enforcement body.

With today December 10, 2019, being International Human Rights Day, GhanaWeb.com brings you a rehash of various times when people’s rights were trampled by persons entrusted to protect those rights

Assault on Latif Iddrisu

On March 28, 2019, Mr Latif Idrissu, a journalist with the Multimedia Group suffered a skull fracture as a result of a brutal assault he suffered in the hands of some police officers while reporting on a demonstration by some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress at the CID headquarters in Accra.

The demonstrators were protesting the detention of the then Deputy National Secretary of the NDC, Mr Koku Anyidoho.

Details of the assault indicate that the journalist incurred the fury of the officers when he enquired the specific name of one of the vehicles used in the crowd control from an officer.

His enquiry was met with a slap in his face and a pull on his shirt after which he was shoved to the ground and was pounced on by other officers who later took him into the main compound of the premises for further assault. His ordeal included several punches to his body parts such as his ribs and head with the butt of a gun and sticks.

He was rescued by a police woman after which he was taken to the Lighthouse Hospital at North Kaneshie in Accra, where he was admitted. The resulting effects of the assault on Mr Iddrisu included difficulty in walking, blurred vision and a swollen face. He at some point vomited blood and it was confirmed that he had suffered a skull fracture.

A year after the assault on Mr Iddrisu, a suit was filed against the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General by Mr Latif Iddrisu and his employer. Demands in the suit included a GHC10 million compensatory damage.

Midland Savings and Loans Assault

In July 2019, during the height of the banking sector crisis, Lance Corporal Amanor Godzi of the Ghana Police Service assaulted one Patience Osafo, at the Shiashie branch of Midland Savings and Loans Limited when she had gone to the bank to withdraw her savings of GH? 270.

Corporal Amanor got physical with Miss Osafo after she refused the banking hall and return at a later date. The 36-year-old grandmother had insisted on being given her savings which she said was needed to provide food for her hungry granddaughter.

The police officer was seen holding onto the woman and hitting her multiple times with an umbrella, as he tried to push her out of the banking hall. He also attempted to violently drag her out of the building as she held the baby in her arms.

A video of the incident which went viral sparked public outrage and drew the condemnation of various institutions including Amnesty International, the Ghana Bar Association, the Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection, and a number of civil society organizations.

Whilst Corporal Amanor was initially arrested on criminal charges of assault, he was later released and posted to duty as the case was dismissed over a purported lack of interest in the trial by the victim. The claims were however dismissed by the lawyer of the victim, Mr Sampson Lardy Ayenini.

However in a bid to avoid a civil suit, management of Midland Savings and Loans Company Limited compensated Patience Osafo, with a brand new house and an undisclosed amount of cash, last year, following the incident.

Koforidua Police “torture Chamber”

In November this year, two junior ranked police officers stationed at the Railway Police Station of the New Juaben South were captured in a video subjecting a suspect in their custody to severe beatings with a bicycle tyre.

The act of assault was being used by the officers to coerce a confession from the suspect for allegedly stealing GHC1,600 from his employer. The instance of the suspect that he only stole GHC360 was not enough to stop the police officers who were bent on getting a confession.

In a later interview, father of the victim Mr Alegbe Daniel said his son was after the assault held in detention from September 27 to October 1 without being given any medical attention for his injuries. The over three days detention of the suspect without any charge or an appearance before a judge was contrary to the law which states that a suspect should not be detained for more than 48 hours without being duly processed for court.

Police officer stomps woman in the stomach

Just this weekend a police officer was captured in a video stomping the stomach of a seemingly helpless woman when he and his colleagues were reportedly called to restore calm in a lad scuffle at Kasoa.

The unidentified officer was seen in the video cloaking his gun at other civilians who had tried to intervene in his assault on the unarmed woman.

Reports indicate the victim of the assault was caught in an exchange of words with a man who was also claiming ownership of a land she has owned for the past 10 years.

It is reported that there have been several attempts to forcefully take away the land from the woman who has failed to develop it in the past years. The chief who is said to have sold the land to the woman is however reported to be standing by the woman despite efforts by his clansmen to sell the land to another person.

Listed among the set of principles that form the foundation of the operational mandate of the Ghana Police Service are the treatment of all people – offenders, staff and the general public with dignity, respect, and understanding as well as Zero tolerance for crime and full commitment for human rights.