Our hands are bloody; 2020 electoral violence must be investigated – Rev Opuni-Frimpong

Rev Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, the Executive Director of Alliance for Christian Advocacy Africa, has raised concerns over the lack of action in addressing electoral violence and related fatalities in the country.

He emphasized the urgent need for collective responsibility in tackling such issues.

Dr. Opuni-Frimpong, also a former General Secretary of the Christian Council, stressed that the prevalence of violence in elections in Ghana has severe consequences, effectively making the hands of citizens “bloody.”

He called for proactive measures to prevent and mitigate electoral violence, ensuring a safer and more peaceful democratic process.

Rev Opuni-Frimpong expressed these concerns in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM as he called for expedited investigations and prosecutions into the 2020 election violence that claimed eight lives.

“Sometimes you ask yourself, why are our leaders not worried about this electoral violence and these electoral deaths? Our hands are so bloody, and we must be worried as a country. It is not only in the 2020 general elections; almost all the elections have a record of death,” he stated.

The Reverend Minister said the citizens should have been updated on the progress of investigations and actions being taken against the perpetrators.

“But again, the recent one is the eight that we recorded in 2020. For me, going into the 2024 election, if the government and the Ghana Police Service can give Ghanaians evidence that at least even if we have not come to the completion of investigations, the process is ongoing and we know those people we are prosecuting, they will add to the peace process.

“We must find those people who killed the eight people and prosecute them, and if need be, even find compensation for those they have left behind,” he stated.

Dr. Opuni-Frimpong further asserted that there must also be a political will to tackle the issue head-on, guarding against indecent language that incites violence.

“The parties themselves, they have mature men and women in those parties who must, you know, behind the scenes, in closed-door meetings, heal the wounds among themselves, and who must talk to their own people.

“We must have people in NPP who will just talk to people that this is not the NPP we want. We need people in NDC who are behind the scenes, even if they must come public and condemn their own,” he urged.