Minority Whip and Member of Parliament for Asawase in the Ashanti Region, the Hon. Mohammed-Mubarak Muntak has described the shooting incident at the Islamic Senior High School (SHS) and the subsequent commotion as the action of trigger-happy officers out for blood.
According to him, contrary to claims by the Ghana Police Service in a statement issued on Monday, there was no confrontation between the students and officers and the alleged pelting of policemen by the students is a fabrication.
In a statement on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, 14th June, 2022, the Whip gave a graphic description of how the agitated students took to the street in front of the school to protest after a speeding vehicle hit the car of a female teacher and shoved it into a ditch.
The teacher, he said, was rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital where she was admitted.
According to the Asawase legislator, on Monday morning a rumour spread that the teacher had died sparking a spontaneous protest by the students who converged in front of the school to register their displeasure at the absence of speed ramps and road signs that the school has consistently complained about.
According to him, the head teacher and a team of police officers who arrived at the scene managed to shepherd the students back onto the school compound and locked the main gate.
“Unfortunately, another batch of police officers came and when they got down, Mr. Speaker, according to firsthand information from the school authority, they broke the gate and barged into the compound despite the fact that the headmaster insisted the situation was already under control and the students are confined within the school premises.”
“They did not take that and started firing tear gas and live ammunition. They chased some of the students into the dormitories and classrooms and in the cause of the melee that ensued, 38 students sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed with ambulances to various hospitals across Kumasi.”
He disclosed that 22 of the injured students were treated and discharged on Monday while 16 continue to receive treatment at the South Suntreso Hospital.
Hon. Muntaka expressed displeasure at the increasing incidents of police brutality against ordinary citizens and mentioned what happened in Ejura, Nkoranza and a few years ago at the Ayawaso West Wuogon.
He appealed to the House to take interest in the matter and charge its Committee on Defense and Interior to investigate the incident.
Speaker Alban Bagbin subsequently charged the Committee to visit the school, the hospitals and the police and gather the facts that led to the violence and urged members to wait for the police investigation that has been launched.
A statement by the police on Monday claimed officers responded to the protest and attempted to disperse the students and open the road to normal traffic flow.
The students, the police said, pelted officers with stones and injured several and the police used pepper spray and fired warning shots to disperse the agitated students.
Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander and two other senior officers have been interdicted for poor handling of the situation while the investigation continues.