2020 polls: Comparing killed persons to armed robbers “unfortunate” – NDC demands Osei-Owusu apology

The NDC in the Bono Region wants an apology from First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, for equating the shooting of civilians during the 2020 polls to the execution of criminals.

Bono East Regional Secretary of the NDC, Mohammed Shamsudeen Ali, said the reference to criminals and armed robbers by the Member of Parliament (MP) concerning 2020 election violence was wrong and insensitive to the bereaved families.

“It is very unfortunate hearing this from a Member of Parliament who has risen to be a deputy speaker,” he stated on Friday, January 8.

For him, the experienced MP’s remarks give credence to deliberate attempts by the government to use the security services to hold on to power.

Six persons died in the general elections with scores of people injured across the country.

The victims include a 15-year old in Odododiodoo; Ibrahim Abass, 30, in Ablekuma Central; Abdallah Ayaric, 18 and Mohammed Tawjudeen, 41, both in Techiman South.

Following the last State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Nana Akufo-Addo on his first term in office, some critics questioned the president’s silence in showing empathy on the deaths.

One of the flashpoints was the Techiman South Constituency in the Bono Region which recorded two deaths and nine injuries after security opened fire during a misunderstanding.

Mr Osei-Owusu believed that it was appropriate for the president to avoid comments on the matter for security agencies to investigate and release their findings.

According to him, it was not fair to insist that the President should condemn the security services for the deaths neither should the bereaved families receive commiseration.

“What if the person [killed] was in the process of committing a crime?” he questioned.

He further asked if “we commiserate with the families of armed robbers we shoot?”

For him, people deserve sympathy if they are wrongly killed “, but if I am shot, in the process of preventing a crime, I deserve that”.

This did not go down well with the NDC regional secretary who said Mr Osei-Owusu’s remarks were “barbaric, uncalled for, horrendous and he must retract and apologise”.

He pointed out in an interview with TV3 that the families were expecting a positive action from the government but to hear criminal tags was disheartening.

According to him, the government did not take any action on the matter, nor commiserate with the bereaved family or those who were wounded except “fabricated stories that came from the Director-General of the CID”.