Thursday, 20th February, 2025
Hon Abdul Kabiru Tiah Mahama
Walewale
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for this opportunity.
Mr Speaker, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to make this Statement on the rather unfortunate developments in the Walewale Constituency; the skirmishes that have led to the needless loss of lives; the acts of lawlessness by the security personnel; and the subsequent imposition of curfew on Walewale and its environs. But before I proceed, I want to convey my sincerest condolences to the families of the several innocent lives that have been lost due to the unfortunate developments.
Mr Speaker, the people of Walewale and its environs are now living in pain, apprehension and fear. Therefore, the right decisions must be taken at the right time. So, I do not take the opportunity offered me lightly.
Mr Speaker, it is a notorious fact that criminal activities on the highway between Bolgatanga and Tamale, which passes through Walewale is now a subject of national security. Before that, it was the Bolgantaga-Bawku-Pulmakom Road. Our inability as a country to deal with the situation has emboldened criminals to attack, maim and kill innocent people and travellers.
Mr Speaker there is a near perfect correlation between attacks on the Bolga-Bawku-Pulmakom Road and the Bolgatanga-Walewale-Tamale Road. We must not mince words in condemning these attacks. We must also be swift in dealing with them because our indolence has created and will create more vulnerabilities like Walewale for these criminals to exploit.
Recent Developments in Walewale.
Mr Speaker, the recent chaos in Walewale started on the 14th January, 2025 when a stationary vehicle caught fire. The military went on rampage and brutalised several people who were leisurely sitting at a popular NDC base. While the frustration of the security personnel is understandable, the professionalism required of them was betrayed. They were utterly careless and a minute of due diligence could have saved the situation.
Mr Speaker, even though the military apologised for that unfortunate incident, the encroachment of the civilian space by the military is a recipe for disaster if it is not curtailed.
Mr Speaker, the first recent reprisal attack of a vehicle occurred on the 10th February, 2025 around Wulugu on the Bolga-Walewale road where a vehicle was allegedly set ablaze. The second attack occurred on the 12th February, 2025 in the Walewale township and the most recent occurred on the 14th February, 2025.
As I stated, all these had corresponding attacks on the Bolgantaga-Bawuku-Pulmakom Road. The reaction of the military to these last two incidences, in the case of the Walewale Constituency, was to beat up anyone in sight on the main highway. Innocent residents of Kukua, Loagri, Walewale, Gbimsi and Wulugu, all communities along the highway, were mercilessly beaten resulting in the loss of one life. Two journalists were also assaulted.
Mr Speaker, the actions of the military are as distasteful as the attacks of travelers by the criminals. By their action, the military is complimenting the criminal adventure of the bandits on the highway and must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to book.
Mr Speaker, these recent reprisal attacks have caused the Minister for the Interior to impose a curfew on Walewale and its environs. This decision is heavyhanded and the first of its kind to be imposed on a community that is relatively peaceful without prejudice to the activities of bandits within the area.
There is no conflict in Walewale or its environs; there is no factional war or fight within the Constituency with which it will escalate. It does not make sense to punish residents in those communities because most of them are just victims. What is even more surprising is that all the attacks that occur on the Walewale road occurs during the day time, outside the curfew hours. Proposal to Ensuring Peace and Stability.
Mr Speaker, while appealing for the review of the curfew on Walewale, let me put on record that it is the principle that matters. The Constituents that I represent on this matter are mixed in tribe. Arguably, many of them are not Mamprusis. So, it is important we live above politics and tribes on this matter.
Respectfully, I appeal that Government lifts the curfew to bring life to normalcy in Walewale.
Mr Speaker, I have few suggestions that I think the Government should consider in the interim while the relevant authorities deal with the underlying cause of the conflict.
1. The Minister for the Interior should enhance the patrols and escort for travellers in the affected routes. I understand that vehicles are attacked under military or police escort in some of these areas, but this has never happened in the case of Walewale, and I believe it is workable.
2. The police intelligence units must be deployed to affected areas to identify perpetrators akin to the approach they use in arresting armed robbers.
3. Lastly, Mr Speaker, the Police Service should enhance community engagement to elicit community support towards fighting the activities of these criminals.
Mr Speaker, as a call for direction, I wish to appeal to you to direct that a fullscale investigation be carried out to delve into the death of two persons in the hands of the security in the last two weeks. This will bring justice to the families of the deceased. I make this application considerate of the fact that the police are already investigating the attack and murder of innocent travellers through the Bolgatanga-Walewale-Tamale route.
Mr Speaker, I thank you once again for the opportunity to make this Statement, and I will kindly urge you to consider this application as duly submitted.
Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh
Nsawam/Adoagyiri
Mr Speaker, let me thank you and the First Deputy Speaker. As you rightly observed, this morning, we had to engage extensively to come to some good conclusion on the same matter.
I show complete solidarity with our Colleague and his Constituents. It is quite unfortunate. We have heard in the media space, a reportage on this same matter, and I am happy that Parliament has found space for it to be entertained. We have read reports of some excess actions staged on the part of the military and some security agencies, allegedly.
Mr Speaker, first of all, I think the national security outfit would have to upgrade their surveillance, patrol, and activities in these areas aforementioned. It is equally important that we comment more responsibly on this subject matter, so that the matter does not get out of hand and is controlled to a good conclusion.
Mr Speaker, I have a lot of confidence in our Minister, our own Colleague, Alhaji Muntaka, who has shown promise in such subject matters. The House must show leadership though. It is quite unfortunate that we do not have our Committee on Defence and Interior constituted. We also do not have our Committee on Security and Intelligence constituted. So, in the absence of that, what do we do, so that we can still navigate properly, be security conscious, and not allow the matter to degenerate?
Mr Speaker, I dare suggest that it is important Parliament does not rest on its oars. We need to go in; we are the representative of the people. Regardless of the fact that we have security experts in these matters, we must also bring our experience to bear and help the security outfits to navigate properly.
To that end, I wish to suggest that, Mr Speaker, you give some consequential directives. This matter is raging day by day. My fear is that until something is done collectively from the outfit of Parliament and the outfit of our security agencies, it may degenerate. We may come back to talk about this same matter and lament about it. So, probably, we can have a Closed Sitting, and because the military has also been mentioned in the same matter, it is no more of an internal security concern. We can bring the Minister for the Interior and the Minister for Defence on the same platform to carry us along.
Mr Speaker, it should not be a oneoff event. We have to sustain a monitoring effort. In the next month or two, there should be a regular briefing on the same subject matter and it is important that security agencies and Parliament collaborate. It is unfortunate the needless loss of lives in these areas. The maker of the Statement, Dr Mahama, posits that the imposition of curfew—I am not a security expert, but he gives a certain background, which comes to support his conclusion that the imposition of curfew at Walewale is suspect, and therefore, it has to be reviewed. I cannot sit here and draw judgment. He is the Member of Parliament from that area, and I am sure he has good reasons to say what he said.
But be it as it may, I think we should, as a matter of urgency, programme the Minister for Defence and the Minister for the Interior to appear before this House for us to get some briefing. This House will also be positioned, and the Member of Parliament can make the necessary inputs to help navigate the situation. We cannot wait until it gets out of hand. We can only thank God that the matter has not degenerated so badly. But it is urgent, and if we do not do anything about it, more lives will be lost and economic activity will be brought to an abrupt end, which will not benefit us, as a country.
So, Mr Speaker, without more, I would only want to suggest that you give us some directives and ensure that we get the two Ministers, both Interior and Defence, to attend upon this House at a Closed Sitting, mainly because of the subject matter, for us to engage appropriately on the same subject matter.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Peter Lanchene Toobu
Wa West
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity. Let me thank the Leadership for yielding to me to make very important comments, as I feel very strongly about the Statement that has just been delivered by my Brother, the Hon MP for Walewale, Dr Mahama.
Mr Speaker, as to whether the issue in Walewale is of pure criminal nature or it is a spill over of the Bawku Conflict, we will leave that one to the security agencies to investigate. But come what may, the loss of every single life in this country on matters of conflict is so needless, to say the least. The issue between Walewale and Bolgatanga, or Tamale and Bolgatanga is taking a different dimension. He has made some important recommendations that the Police Intelligence Department should do better by deploying more. He also requested that the curfew that is imposed should be looked at very carefully.
Whatever it is, Mr Speaker, as cautious as we want to be, Plato had it right when he said “the greatest form of injustice is pretended justice”. When we know what is right and we all close our eyes to the truth and go around talking over years about what the problem is and not willing to nip it in the bud, these are some of the things that will happen. I want to believe that the suggestions made by the Hon Minority Chief Whip, Mr Annoh-Dompreh, that we should allow the Minister for Defence and the Minister for the Interior in a Closed Sitting for them to give us update as to what is happening in Northern Ghana, particularly, in relation to the Bawku area that is now gradually becoming — including the Walewale area. This is a matter of worry to all of us. But I also want to recommend that apart from the Minister for Defence and the Minister for the Interior, we should get the two chairmen of the two regional security councils involved.
The chairman of the Upper East Regional Security Council and the chairman of the Northeast Regional Security Council for them to come and brief this House on what is actually going on. How can we come together as a nation to ensure that this matter is nipped in the bud? Pretended justice is the greatest form of injustice and as cautious as I am, Mr Speaker, I want to draw the curtains here and I am so grateful for the opportunity. Thank you so much.
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