Soldiers advised not to allow them to be manipulated

Sekondi, Aug. 13, GNA - Soldiers have again been reminded of the need for them to be disciplined and not to allow themselves to be misused by civilians for their selfish motives.

Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Erskine (rtd), member of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) said at Wednesday's sitting of the Commission in Sekondi that equally, civilians must stop enticing friends and relations in the security to do their "dirty works" for them. He made the remarks after a witness, Madam Victoria Essien, narrated to the Commission how in 1983, her husband, Charles Amankrah, was brutally assaulted by soldiers at Bonsa near Tarkwa, resulting in his death a few days later.

Lt. Gen. Erskine said all aggrieved persons should learn to seek redress at the courts instead of using soldiers for their revenge that normally ends up in very unfortunate circumstances.

The soldiers came to pick the late Amankrah to the Apremdo military barracks in Takoradi at the instance of Obeng Yaw, who was engaged in protracted land litigation with Amankrah, the Commission heard. Obeng Yaw was said to have committed suicide in Takoradi a few months after the incident.

Madam Essien told the Commission that, her husband spent about four days at the barracks before he was released from the military guardroom and when he came home he complained of bodily pains.

He coughed loudly and vomited blood, and died at the Tarkwa hospital where he was sent for medical treatment.

She said after the death of her husband, life had become extremely difficult for her and their four children and appealed to the Commission to recommend adequate compensation for the family.

Mr Matthew Adams, a former worker at the Hohoe Government hospital, who is now a farmer at Biaho in the Western Region told the Commission of how, in 1979, he was accused of stealing drugs at the hospital and subjected to inhuman treatment by soldiers at the Ho Mortar Regiment. He said he spent four days in the guardroom after which he and two others, also from the hospital were sent back to Hohoe and paraded through the town before they were stretched on a table and given lashes on their backs in public.

They were placed in police cells for three months before being sent to court and jailed at Kpando for a few days and were released.

Mr Adams said as a result of the ill treatment meted out to him, he became blind in the left eye whilst his left ear had become defective. He said even though he was exonerated and asked to go back to work, he became so peeved that he resigned after working for one year. He also asked for Compensation from the government.

Another witness, Madam Elizabeth Paidu, told the Commission that in 1979, soldiers from the Apremdo barracks surrounded the Takoradi Central Market and seized goods from traders and ruined the lives of many of them because they were the breadwinners of their families.

She said the soldiers took from her store ten bags of rice and other items, including items from other traders and sent them to the Takoradi Central Police Station and neither the items nor money were given to them.

No explanation was given for the seizure.

She said at another time in 1982, she decided to buy crabs and bread at Jaway Wharf and sell them at Takoradi, but soldiers from the Apremdo barracks intercepted the vehicle on which she and other traders were travelling and seized their wares, once more ruining her trading activities.

Madam Faustina Dadzie of Takoradi, who dealt in wax prints told the Commission of how armed soldiers from the Apremdo barracks in 1979, seized all her consignment of more than 100 pieces of both local and foreign prints in her store at the Takoradi central market. She said the soldiers ordered her to load the cloths into a sack and was ordered to carry it into a waiting military vehicle and she and the goods were sent to the barracks.

At about 9.30 pm, she was asked to go home and come the next day, and according to Madam Dadzie, this went on for about two weeks before she was asked not to go to the barracks again with the explanation that they would invite her when there was the need to do so. She said she became indebted to her trading partners and she and her husband had to sell all their properties to defray part of the debts.

On another occasion when she decided to trade in gari, soldiers at the Nchaban barrier seized six and half bags of the commodity and gave them to the Takoradi Peoples Defence Committee (PDC) to sell. Madam Dadzie said proceeds from the sale that was given to her could only buy two bags of gari. She, therefore, abandoned the business. She appealed to the Commission to recommend compensation for her. Mr Alexander Co-Nutsugah who lives at East Tanokrom in Takoradi told the Commission that in February 1982, armed soldiers came to knock at his door at dawn and demanded the keys to a Peugeot 504 car he had bought from a friend the previous day.

He said he gave in to their demand after they had threatened to kill him if he refused to comply.

The witness told the Commission that his mother-in-law, who was then visiting the family, became so frightened that she collapsed and was pronounced dead upon reaching the hospital.

He said he recognized one of the soldiers as Corporal Amuzu of the Air Force Station in Takoradi and therefore, made a complaint to one Lt. Col. Ben Cole who ordered the suspects to be put in guardroom for using his name in unapproved operations.

Mr Co-Nutsugah said he later found his car among others that had been seized and parked at Apremdo barracks but was asked to come for it later.

But when he went there, he was told that the car had been sent to Accra for a special operation and did not see it again.

Answering questions, the witness said he became so angry that he bought a pistol to kill Amuzu at the least opportunity.

He said he recently travelled to Tamale where Amuzu was currently working as a security officer with the aim of killing him, "but luckily for him, my lord, he was then in a group".

Mr Co-Nutsugah said because he had been given the opportunity to tell the world about what happened to him and his family, he had forgiven those who wronged him.