The chairman of the three-member committee tasked in 2021 to probe the disturbances in Ejura has been nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for a Supreme Court justice appointment.
Justice George Kingsley Koomson is among four judges nominated for appointment as justices of the Supreme Court by the president.
Justice Kingsley Koomson, before his nomination, was working in the judicial system as a Justice of the Appeals Court.
However, he is best known in the public space for his work as chairman of a committee that included security expert Vladimir Antwi Danso and the chief executive officer of Penplusbyte, Miss Juliet Amoah.
The three, led by Justice Koomson, were tasked by the Minister for the interior on the orders of the president to probe the disturbances in Ejura that resulted in the death of two persons and six others sustaining varying degrees of injuries.
The victims were shot by police and military officers dispatched to Ejura during an angry youth protest over the murder of a social activist, Muhammed Ibrahim, popularly known as Kaaka.
The committee was tasked to probe the incident and provide a detailed report from their inquiry, with recommendations for appropriate action.
In September of the same year, government released a report on the committee’s work. The committee, among other things, indicted the police and military for their conduct in Ejura.
As part of their recommendations, the committee called for the transfer of the Ejura District Police Commander, DSP Philip Kojo Hammond, as well as the removal of the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipal Chief Executive, Honourable Mohammed Salisu Bamba.
Read the committee’s 10 recommendations below:
1. Adequate compensation for the families of the two deceased persons, Abdul Nasir Yusuf and Murtala Suraj Mohammed. It further recommended that the injured persons, Louis Ayikpa, Awal Misbau, and Nasif Nuhu.
2. The immediate transfer of the District Police commander of Ejura, DSP Philip Kojo Hammond for his incompetence in handling the situation and also for the fact that his relationship with the community seems to have been damaged beyond repair.
3. The expansion of the Ejura Police Station and an increase in personnel.
4. The removal of the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipal Chief Executive, Honourable Mohammed Salisu Bamba, since his continuous presence as MCE would exacerbate the already tense security situation in Ejura.
5. The Military Establishment review the actions of the section on the ground, led by Lieutenant Martin Opoku Adusei, for the inappropriate use of force, and apply appropriate sanctions.
6. The training of REGSEC, MUSEC, and DISEC officials in the Ashanti Region in Conflict and Crisis Management at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College at least once every year.
7. The development of a joint Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) for Military/ Police operations, including roles for indispensable allied agencies like the National Fire Service, National Ambulance Service, etc.
8. The National Commission for Civic Education should intensify its Public education in relation to the rights, obligations, and civic responsibilities of the people of Ejura.
9. All crowd/riot/crisis control units be made to wear bodycams, and all vehicles and mobile gadgets employed must also have cameras.
10. The establishment of Sports and Recreational Facilities in Ejura under the Zongo Development Fund, to rechannel the energies of the youth.
GA/SEA
Justice Kingsley Koomson is currently a judge of the Appeal Court