He said even though he called for the presence of the military in the area, the real identities of those who shot and killed some of the demonstrators has not been revealed to him.
Simon Osei-Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Minister has disclosed that he is yet to know the identities of the military men that killed protesters in Ejura in the Ashanti Region.
Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei Mensah
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The Minister said this when he faced the Presidential Committee set up to investigate the killings in Kumasi.
“…As I was informed, the military moved forward for the police to be behind them because their method to disperse the crowd failed. It was during that period that I was told the shooting incidents or whatever took place, but as to who gave the shots, I have not been informed yet or to say it has not been established yet.”
He, however, defended the military involvement in the protest.
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According to him, he needed to restore calm to save lives and property, and does not think the collaboration between the two agencies should end. He said he acted in line with the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 1030.
“I’ve used this strategy all this while. This is the first time we have casualties, and I think we should continue with it,” Mr. Osei-Mensah said.
The protests in Ejura followed the death of Ibrahim Muhammed.
Ejura riots
Pulse Ghana
Ibrahim Muhammed, alias Kaaka, died after he was attacked by a mob on June 27 while returning home.
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Two residents of Ejura, Nasir Yussif and Murtala Mohammed, were shot dead by soldiers during a protest against the killing of another native of the town, Ibrahim Mohammed alias Macho Kaaka.
Out of the four other persons who sustained gunshot wounds, one of them, a sixteen year old boy, has had one of his legs amputated at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
