A commander ordered soldiers into parliament during Speaker Elections - Kan Dapaah

Kan Dapaah said the Commander felt things were getting out of order during the Speaker elections and was only trying to restore sanity

A commander ordered soldiers into parliament during Speaker Elections - Kan Dapaah
Kan Dapaah

The National Security Minister-designate, Mr Kan Dapaah, has disclosed that military officers who besieged Parliament  during the election of new Speaker on January 7, 2021, did so on the orders of a commander.

According to him, the said military commander ordered his men into the chamber because he felt things were getting out of order.

He debunked suggestions that the military was deployed by the government to intimidate the members of the House.

“A commander felt things were getting out of order and decided to deploy the military to restore order, so I questioned him ‘why did you think your presence there was going to frighten them’, or could you arrest them…it was an unfortunate incident and we wish it never happens again," the minister-designate stated.

He, however, added that the CDS has been directed by the President to investigate the incident for the appropriate sanctions are proferred the said commander.

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Mr Kan Dapaah also gave justification for the deployment of officers of the Ghana Armed Forces as security details for some public officials.

According to him, the development where some Ministers of state and heads of state agencies are protected by the military personnel instead of the police administration is crucial.

Addressing the vetting panel, Mr Kan Dapaah explained the decisions are taken when intelligence indicates that “a particular individual has a problem and people are after his life, and we think there is a danger.”

“Anywhere you have seen soldiers having to protect a certain individual, it is because in our assessment, in the assessment of the security experts, there is the need to for such support to be given to that particular person.” he added as quoted by myjoyonline

He further indicated that the Ghana Police Service who are tasked to facilitate internal security are sometimes not up to the task when it comes to the level of security equipment needed for specific cases, warranting the employment of military.