Whitewashing of bloody AWW violence dangerous precedent – Mahama

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has criticized government’s rejection of most of the key recommendations of the Justice Emile Short Committee Report on the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence.

Mr. Mahama, speaking during a courtesy call by executives of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), said it should be of great concern to all Ghanaians that government, by its actions,  appears to approve of the lawless assault on innocent civilians.

“To believe that Government can say an MP deserves to be slapped because he provoked a security officer is unconscionable. I don’t know by what moral code this judgement is being made but it creates a very bad precedent for us,” he noted.

“It means that… anybody can be brutalized by a security officer if he believes that you have provoked him… not even an MP is immune to brutality,” he added .

Former President Mahama further argued that the actions of government gives the impression that government is unconcerned about what happens to sitting opposition Members of Parliament.

“It is a worry that Ayawaso West Wuogon will be repeated on a larger scale than it did. This was only a by-election but the way things are going and from what we are hearing, it is possible that some sinister force is preparing to wreak violence during the (general) elections and this is something that we must look at, ” he disclosed.