The Member of Parliament for Wa East Constituency, Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw has “roundly condemn the invasion and brutalization of innocent community members in Goripie and Manwe by military personnel yesterday (25/01/2024).”
According to Dr Jasaw, the two communities were targeted under the guise of addressing illegal mining activities by the military.
The lawmaker in a statement copied to Info Radio questioned why the “mining sites themselves were not targeted but soldiers decided to go into the communities to seize motorbikes of innocent community members amid firing of gunshots?”
Dr Jasaw registered his displeasure over the use of excessive force on civilians and the seizure of property belonging to the community members.
The statement added that “I’m informed this has happened recently and in some cases monies exchanged hands before such ceased properties were released.
Such actions not only violate the rights of the individuals involved but also contribute to the breakdown of trust between the military and the civilian population.”
He demanded that the military returned the seized property to the owners and apologize to the people of Wa East.
The MP appealed to the communities to exercise maximum restraint and called for a thorough investigation into the incident.
“It is unfortunate that the regional minister and the DCE are both claiming innocence about the incident. I wonder who then is in charge of the security of our people,” the statement added.
He mentioned that the Minister of Defense must take interest in the matter because it has shifted from brutality at mining sites to brutality of innocent community members.