The parliamentary committee on military-civil brutality in Wa recommends compensation to victims, brutalizing soldiers tried and punished

A Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Interior set up by the Parliament of Ghana to investigate the military brutality in Wa within the Upper West Region has recommended compensation for victims.

In addition, the committee recommended that soldiers who brutalized and tortured washing bay owners at Wichau be identified, tried, and punished by the Military High Command if found culpable and to serve as a deterrent.

A referral was made to the Committee on Defence and Interior by the first Deputy Speaker, Honourable Joseph Osei-Owusu, to investigate the military-civil unrest in which soldiers were seen in a viral video beating up people in Wa in the Upper West Region over a missing phone.
The referral was occasioned by the statement made on Friday 2, July 2021 by the Minority  Leader of the House and Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, drawing the attention of the House to the adverse effects of the Military brutalities on citizens calling on the relevant authorities to take necessary measures to control the situation.
The Committee sitting saw twenty victims/witnesses interviewed which include Cletus Awuni, Regan Salifu, and Issah Mohammed who represented under oath to corroborate the incident.
The Committee chaired by Honourable Ken Ohene Agyapong as part of the recommendations, said steps be taken by the Military High Command and the Ministry of Defence to foster good civil-military relationships in communities where new Military units have been established and in the country as a whole.
The Committee further recommended that senior officers of the ranks of Major and Captain be posted to the 10 Mechanised Battalion to assist the commanding officer in the execution of the tasks assigned to him.
The Committee identified mobile phone snatching as not uncommon in Wa municipality.
This, the report says may have recounted the bravado with which the unidentified bandits searched Private Archer's mobile phone.
Finally, the committee recommended that steps be taken to enhance security in the various university campuses and the Wa municipalities