Investigate assault by GIS officers - Speaker directs Interior Minister

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has directed the Minister of Interior to immediately investigate an alleged assault of a young lady by two armed Ghana Immigration Service officers at the Aflao border in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region.

He said the audiovisual in which the two officers, armed with guns, were seen assaulting the young lady was “completely uncivilised and unacceptable” in a democratic society. “I am calling on the minister to take immediate action and report back to the House not later than July 29, 2024,” the Speaker directed. 

Deep outrage

The Speaker gave the directive after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Ketu South, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, had read a statement on the assault of a young lady by two armed immigration officers.

The audiovisual was subsequently played on the floor of the House after which legislators from both sides condemned the incident and called for immediate investigation.

The MP told the House that she was deeply disturbed and outraged by the content of the video involving officers of the GIS.

The video, she said, captured an unarmed civilian woman, Abigail Azaledzi, at the Beat 9 area of Aflao being physically assaulted by two gun-wielding immigration officers at the Aflao border in the Ketu South Municipality, saying that “Mr Speaker, this incident is not the first time”.

Blatant disregard for dignity 
Ms Gomashie said she unequivocally condemned that unprofessional and heinous conduct.  “No individual, regardless of their position or authority, has the right to inflict such violence upon another citizen.

“The Ghana Immigration Service, entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding our borders, must uphold the highest standards of conduct and integrity. The actions of these officers have not only tarnished the reputation of the service but have also undermined public trust,” she said.

While maintaining that the incident raised serious questions about the GIS’ training protocols and the culture within the Ketu South border facility, the MP said citizens deserved to feel safe from violence, particularly at the hands of those entrusted with their security.

“The blatant disregard for the dignity and rights of a citizen in this manner is simply unacceptable. “Under no circumstances whatsoever should armed uniformed personnel resort to physical attack, violence and causing harm of any kind to unarmed citizens, especially so under unprovoked circumstances,” she said.

In her view, the core mandate of the GIS was to regulate and monitor the entry, residence, employment and exit of all foreigners. She, therefore, called on the Minister of the Interior to immediately suspend from duty the officers involved, pending a thorough investigation into the incident.

“It is also my hope that measures will be implemented to prevent such incidents in future and ensure that the rights and dignity of all individuals are respected,” she said.

After MPs had taken turns to condemn the acts of the GIS officers, the Speaker emphasised that public servants were servants of the people, saying that, “we volunteered to serve Ghanaians”.

“Public servants are different from armed forces; the armed forces by the name are armed and they are armed and trained to use force and that is usually the last resort.

“We are not by law and by concept, to use force; what is even making it worse is to the referral sight it is completely uncivilised to use force against a lady. It is not at all allowed,” the Speaker said.

He pointed out that the culture of democracy abhorred the use of force, even in trying to get people to comply with the law. Urging Ghanaians to emphasize brutal history, Mr Bagbin recalled how there used to be people formerly called border guards.

He said what led to the disbandment of the border guard unit “is some of these incidents”. “As a young man and a student leader at the University of Ghana, Legon, I had an experience of such incident in Wa in the Upper West Region involving border guards; it was nasty and their residents and properties were burnt and their families were beaten by the public.

“Do not forget that the public is stronger; it is a stronger group and they can even fight armed forces. So, we should desist from using force against civilians,” he said.