The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has underscored that the injuries and fatalities recorded during the 2020 election at Techiman South could have been avoided had security personnel adhered to proper crowd control procedures.
The Techiman South constituency witnessed two fatalities and six injuries following a shooting incident during the collation of results in the 2020 general elections.
Updating the press on ongoing investigations into the 2020 and 2024 electoral incidents, Muntaka emphasised that the use of live ammunition by some security personnel was unjustified as personnel did not follow the approved rules of engagement.
“The injury could have been avoided had the security personnel not resorted to the use of live ammunitions for crowd control. The use of firearms by security personnel was not done under the command of a security officer who could have ensured that the appropriate use of rules of engagement were observed.
“Security personnel especially the police patrol team at the collation centre fired indiscriminately and, in some cases, directed fire at the escaping crowd,” he stated.
The minister added that investigators faced challenges gathering ballistic evidence from the scene due to environmental factors and limited retrieval of key materials.
“Spent shells could not be retrieved from the scene. In the case of Techiman, the day after the election, it rained heavily and so they couldn’t pick much from the scene and no bullet were retrieved from the bodies of the diseased to assist ballistic examination to identify which weapon caused the injuries or death.
“It made it difficult to bring finality as to who caused the injuries or deaths for now. However, investigations will continue until justice is done,” he added.
He, however, assured that investigations remain ongoing to ensure justice is served.
Source:Lovinghananews.com
