Techiman Shooting: Court awards GH¢270K in damages to victims

The Wenchi High Court has ordered the state to compensate six individuals with GH¢45,000 each for injuries sustained during a shooting incident at the Techiman South Collation Centre following the 2020 parliamentary elections.

The ruling comes after violent clashes erupted at the centre, ahead of the declaration of Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah as the Member of Parliament-elect for Techiman South.

Security personnel, in a bid to control the unrest, fired shots that resulted in the deaths of two people and injuries to several others.

The injured victims subsequently filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that their right to life, as guaranteed under Article 13 of the 1992 Constitution and various international human rights statutes, had been violated.

While the state, represented by the Attorney General’s office, conceded that shots were fired, it insisted that they were merely warning shots intended to disperse a crowd threatening to disrupt the electoral process.

The state further argued that the security officers' actions were justified, suggesting that some injuries could have been caused by gunfire originating from within the crowd itself.

However, the court rejected the state's defence, determining there was sufficient evidence to prove that security officers had fired directly into the crowd in an "indiscriminate" manner.

The judge ruled that there was no constitutional justification for such actions, stating: "The shooting was not targeted at individuals causing unrest, as the state claims."

The court further noted that there was no credible evidence supporting the state’s argument that other sources of gunfire contributed to the injuries.

Although the court upheld the plaintiffs' claims, it declined to grant the full damages sought, GH¢5million for the first applicant and GH¢2million for each of the other five.

The judge reasoned that the applicants had not provided sufficient evidence to justify the amounts requested and instead ordered the state to pay GH¢45,000 each to the victims in damages.