Ejura killings: Families kick against nomination of Justice Koomson to Supreme Court
Victims of the Ejura killings have submitted a petition to the Appointment Committee of Parliament to reject Justice Kingsley Koomson as a candidate to be judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
The petition is in respect of his role in the work of the Inter-ministerial Committee to investigate the killings that occurred in Ejura by some military personnel in 2021.
“Having watched the ongoing proceedings of the Appointment Committee of Parliament regarding the nomination of Justice Kingsley Koomson, and noted the responses Justice Koomson provided to questions asked of him with respect to the fact-finding Committee which he chaired in relation to the Ejura killings
“……..we the victims and families of victims of the Ejura incidents deem it morally compelling to submit this memorandum, and to express on formal record why we consider that the nomination of Justice Kingsley Koomson to the Supreme Court should not be approved,” the petition said.
According to the petition, the families “consider that Justice Kingsley Koomson lacks the necessary independence of thought, moral conviction and integrity that will support his nomination to the Supreme Court.”
They also added that his role on the Committee shows that he is not up to the task and that he had failed when he was entrusted with a national duty requiring that he showed the necessary independence of thought, moral conviction and integrity that will support his nomination to the Supreme Court.
The families are therefore calling on the Appointments Committee and subsequently Parliament to reject the nomination of Justice Koomson to the Supreme Court.
Justice Kingsley George Koomson has been nominated together with three other judges for an appointment at the Supreme Court of Ghana.
He was referred to the Appointments Committee for consideration after the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, announced their nominations in the House in July 2022.
Justice Koomson appeared before the Appointment Committee on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.
Read the full petition below
What happened at Ejura
On June 29, 2021, Yussif and Mohammed died from gunshots from a joint police and military team during activities related to the burial of a social activist in the area, Ibrahim Muhammed, popularly known as Kaaka.
Kaaka was attacked by a mob and later died from serious injuries.
Three other persons Louis Ayikpa, Awal Misbau and Nasif Nuhu got injured in the incident.
A committee set up by the Minister for the Interior to investigate the issue submitted its report in September last year.
The committee, chaired by Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Kingsley Koomson, in its report, recommended that families of the two young men who lost their lives in the shooting incident must be compensated.
It further recommended that the three injured persons must also be compensated.
While the government had since compensated the families of the two young men who lost their lives in the shooting incident, the injured persons are yet to be compensated.