The COVID-19 Lockdown Abuse and brutalities can be judged as the Ayawaso West Wuogon violence amature version but that does not stop us from condemning the acts of the security services.
The ongoing abuse of Ghanaians is not funny, nor justifiable and must be stopped now.Our guess is that you have also seen some of the bad publicity for the military and police that went viral barely 48 hours into the 366 hours of lockdown. The old lady abused on her way to buy foodstuffs. The old woman carrying water and weeping like a child after she was caned, the young lady forced to hop to the door entrance.
If you have not seen them, you might have heard about drivers and pedestrians who the police extorted money from. All these points to the improper execution of lockdown orders.
Ghana has danger looming in her face as the COVID-19 Lockdown Abuse continues and the police and military disregard social distancing rules in town while helping us contain the disease. Some are slapping, touching recalcitrant Ghanaians and coming into contact with likely infected persons without knowing.
There is an urgent need for the ethical considerations by security personnel in the enforcement of the partial lockdown orders while also looking at the human rights violation dimensions of their wild approach.
Violating the rights of citizens is uncalled for and a set back in our fight as revealed by the press release of the Human Rights Reporters Ghana.
We recommended that the government should provide a holistic medical service to victims which should among other things include psychological (counseling) support so they recover from the traumatic experience.
“The Human Rights Reporters Ghana has condemned the acts of brutalities meted out to the victims and has called on the government to as a matter of urgency, bring officers on the ground to order.”
The force being applied is not justifiable. The statement added that “The Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG) is alarmed by the countless abuses meted out, being meted out and will be meted out by the police and military officers deployed to maintain law and order and enforce the lockdown directives to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.”
In the press statement, it mentioned that “Men and women have been severely abused by officers who are beating, slapping, spanking and applying unreasonable force.”
Security officers in other parts of the world are bringing hope to stressed persons in lockdown places and are doing this with love, a human face and respect for the law and the citizens, and rights of civilians who might have even broken the law. We don’t deserve COVID-19 lockdown abuse which only reminds us of the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence.
Our security officers owe it a duty to replicate this approach and not use the animals’ kingdom supremacy approach.
Stop the abuse, protect from COVID-19 while attempting to safeguard public health and safety. Stay safe, act right, rule right, apply the law the right way, know your limits as we fight the common enemy COVID-19. Stop the abuse of the citizens now! Human Rights Abuses and COVID-19 cannot co-exist in this fight.
The excesses of the security officers must be condemned in no uncertain terms. They cannot be more lawless than lawless. In every society, there are deviants; that’s why we have laws to deal with such deviants. And as law enforcers, their job is to enforce the law, and there’s nowhere in the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 3020, which is currently in force, that prescribes assault as punishment for breach of the law. They need to enforce the law by arrest and prosecution and not subject citizens to a COVID-19 lockdown abuse.
They cannot enforce the law in their breach. Why did the Executive and Parliament spend resources, including time and money, to speedily prepare and pass the Imposition of Restrictions Act, if brute is the answer to enforcement? Yes, coronavirus may have placed us under a state of emergency but NO, it doesn’t displace us from under the rule of law!
COVID-19 Lockdown abuse must stop now! We have been called on to spread calm and not fear but the military and police will have none of that and have turned it round “Spreadfearnotcalm” Let our officers fall in line now!.
Source: Human Rights Reporters Ghana
