The Wenchi High Court has ruled in favor of six individuals who were injured during the 2020 parliamentary election violence in Techiman South, ordering the government to pay a total of GH¢150,000 in compensation for their various degrees of harm.
The court, presided over by Justice Frederick Nawurah, ruled that the government must compensate the six individuals for violating their right to life and causing psychological trauma, resulting from being shot by state security forces during the election violence.
Additionally, the court directed the state and investigative agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident that resulted in the injuries sustained by the six individuals – Sulemana Elliasu, Abubakari Iddrisu, Alhassan Nasiru, Aremeaw Alhassan, Alhassan Abdul-Rahman, and Paul Asue – and ensure that those responsible are held accountable and brought to justice.
In his ruling, Justice Frederick Nawurah declared that the violent incident on December 8, 2020, in Techiman South, which resulted in gunshot wounds for the six individuals, constituted a violation of their fundamental human rights.
Consequently, the court awarded a compensation of GH¢20,000 each to the six victims, in addition to the earlier compensation of GH¢150,000, as a form of redress for the infringement of their rights.
“I grant a declaration that the injuries respectively inflicted on Sulemana Elliasu, Abubakari Iddrisu, Alhassan Nasiru, Aremeaw Alhassan, Alhassan Abdul-Rahman and Paul Asue by gunshots at the Techiman South Constituency Collation Center, carried out by the security forces/personnel deployed by the State of Ghana to the Techiman South Collation Center, on the 8th day of December 2020, violated their respective rights to life under Article 13(1) of the 1992 Constitution, and their respective rights on the State to respect and uphold their respective rights to life and human dignity, under article 12(1) of the 1992 Constitution,” the court held.
The court delivered its verdict after granting an application filed by the six individuals, seeking to enforce their fundamental human rights as guaranteed under Article 33 of the 1992 Constitution, thereby ruling in their favor and ordering the state to provide compensation for the violations they suffered.
On December 8, 2020, during the tallying of votes for the 2020 Parliamentary election in the Techiman South Constituency, a crowd began voicing their discontent through chants and protests, which escalated into chaotic and unruly behavior, prompting the violent incident that led to the injuries of the six individuals.
“At a certain point in time the armed security men started firing their weapons ostensibly to control the crowd, but this resulted in a number of people suffering serious gunshot wounds and one person dying as a result of injuries from gunshot,” the court document stated.
The six applicants argued that the security officers’ shooting constituted a blatant disregard for their right to life and freedom from torture, as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution and international human rights conventions.
They sought a court declaration acknowledging this violation and requested compensation of GH¢5 million each, totaling GH¢30 million, for the harm suffered.
The court based its ruling on the evidence presented, including video footage, which clearly showed that the applicants sustained gunshot wounds due to the actions of security personnel.
The court deemed the use of firearms by the security officers as unjustified and indiscriminate, as it was not supported by any reasonable legal justification.
Furthermore, the court found that the defendants, namely the Attorney-General and the Inspector General of Police, failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify the use of force, leading to the conclusion that the applicants’ rights were violated.
“Obviously, when firearms are discharged as a crowd control measure, there are bound to be additional risks, such as injuring or killing peaceful participants or bystanders or causing further escalation of the violence with even more casualties. Thus firearms may only be used when it becomes necessary to save other lives,” the court held.
“In view of all these facts, I find that the injury of the applicants by the state security forces was not based upon any reasonable justification for the defence of any person from violence or for the defence of property or for the purposes of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny or in order to prevent the commission of a crime by the applicants. They were injured as a result of the indiscriminate firing of weapons into the crowd by the state security forces,” the court added.
