Tyranny! As Police Manhandles Minority MPs to Shield Demagogue Jean Mensa

Men of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) today physically manhandled scores of Ghanaian Parliamentarians who had attempted to submit a petition against election rigging to the Electoral Commissioner, Jean Mensa.

Some of the Members of Parliament (MPs) from the minority side of the legislature were pushed to the ground while the Police officers roughed up the Minority Leaders, Haruna Iddrissu who was leading the delegation of lawmakers to the Electoral Commission (EC) headquarters.

The police, some suspected to be implants of the militia members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) claim they were not aware that the lawmakers were embarking on a demonstration and thus were breaching the Public Order law.

However, the Minority Leader questioned why the police will prevent a group of people simply walking to submit a petition.

Indeed, Whatsup News has seen a letter showing that the EC had been duly notified by the Minority that it was submitting a petition today December 22, 2020.

On Monday, December 21, 2020, the EC received a notice to Jean Mensa, informing her that the Minority MPs were scheduled to submit a petition to her.

“I write to inform you that the Minority Caucus will be walking from Parliament to the office of the Electoral Commission in Accra on Tuesday, 22nd December 2020, at 10.00 am to present to the Commission a petition on the purported declaration of the results of the parliamentary elections for Techiman South,” Haruna Iddrissu wrote.

The letter was received and stamped by the EC. According to critics, it is therefore not in the place of the Ghana Police Service to prevent the lawmakers from submitting their petition. There is no law in Ghana that requires police permission before a petition can be submitted to public officials.

The display of the police has been part of the high-handed and brutal treatment of perceived members of the main opposition party throughout the election period.

This high-handedness has resulted in them shooting some five (5) civilians and injuring dozens of others during and after the general elections, in Ghana’s bloodiest elections.

Some of the MPs who undertook the walk include A.B.A Fuseini who was roughly pushed around and Laadi Ayii Ayamba, who was pushed to the ground by the security officers.

The episode today has further driven post-election tension through the roofs, as the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has flatly rejected the presidential election declaration by the EC which has been changed more than six times since December 9, 2020.

According to the NDC, its presidential candidate, ex-President John Mahama won the election but he was cheated out of his win. Ex-President Mahama has since rejected the election result and has refused to concede defeat to the incumbent President Akufo Addo.