Anlo MP's on Anloga Chieftancy Crisis

STATEMENT ON THE LOSS OF LIVES AND PROPERTY DURING THE PURPORTED ENSTOOLMNET OF AN AWOMEFIA IN ANLOGA IN THE KETA DISTRICT OF THE VOLTA REGION
BY CLEMENT KOFI HUMADO, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR ANLO

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to make a statement on the chieftaincy clashes that occurred in Anloga in the Anlo constituency of the Volta Region on Thursday, the 1st of November 2007 that led to the loss of lives and property.

This statement also calls on the Honourable Minister for the Interior to explain the conflicting issues in his statement to parliament in respect of the recent disturbances in Anloga and secondly an appeal to His Excellency the President to institute an Independent Commission of Enquiry to probe the role of the security agencies in the disturbances in the Anlo area. Mr. Speaker and members of this august house will recall that on the 1st of November 2007, there were violent clashes between followers of one Nyonyo Agboada also called Regent Togbi Sri III and the youth of Anloga leading to loss of four lives and destruction of property. In a statement by the Minister for the Interior Hon. Kwamena Bartels to Parliament on 6th November 2007, captured in column 448 of the Official Report on Parliamentary Debate, he indicated to the house that the ?Anlo Traditional Authority? notified the Ghana Police Service in accordance with the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 491) of their intention to organize a five day ?cultural festival?.

The Hon. Minister went on further to state that ??later security intelligence indicated that the kingmakers of the faction supporting the candidate of Togbi Sri III as the substantive Awomefia had initiated a process towards the installation of Togbi Sri III as the new Awomefia during the course of the cultural celebration?. In his statement he further mentioned that ??On 1st November 2007, the Kingmakers attempted to move this process forward by performing some customary rites at Toli (Agorwovornu) shrine of the Anlo people at Anloga, but this was opposed by the other faction. Unfortunately, this resulted in violence. The police intervention to restore law and order was fiercely resisted by both parties.?

Mr. Speaker in my own contribution to the statement on the 6th November 07, captured in column 454 of the same ?Official Report on Parliamentary Debates? , I did point out that a notice given for a cultural festival could not be used to confine and install a chief since the installation of an Awomefia is a distinct event of its own. Indeed an examination of the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 491) section 1 paragraph (2) states that notification shall be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the organizers of the special event and shall specify ? the place and hour of the event, the nature of the special event, the time of commencement, the proposed route and destination, if any and proposed time of closure of the event. Mr. Speaker, in my contribution I also argued that if indeed the notice from the ?Anlo Traditional Authority? did not specify the confinement and installation of an Awoamefia while the applicant went ahead to initiate the process of installation, then this amounted to deceit of the security agencies by the applicant and that the matter ought to be investigated. Indeed in the response of the Honourable Minister for the Interior captured in column 482 and 483 of the ?Official Report on Parliamentary Debates? dated 6th November 2007, the Minister again admitted that the notice given was for a cultural festival and that in his opinion, the matter ought to be investigated.

Mr. Speaker, subsequent information available to me and in the public domain shows that on the 22nd day of October 2007, one Napoleon Agboada who is described as a Stool Secretary of the Royal Adzovia Clan of Anlo wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) giving notice of an event entitled ?Final Installation Ceremonies for Togbi Sri III (Awoamefia of Anlo) - Request for Police Assistance?

Following the above request by the Stool Secretary, on the 25th of October 2007, the Chief Staff Officer of the Ghana Police Service, DSP E.K Bansah, upon instructions from the IGP wrote a letter entitled ?Re-Final Installation Ceremonies for Togbi Sri III (Awoamefia of Anlo)? reference No. AC 55/ 322/Q1/TJ2 to the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Volta Region to be in readiness to respond to the request and further advised that the police should be absolutely neutral and non confrontational.

Mr. Speaker, this information runs counter to the statement made by the Honourable Minister for the Interior to parliament on the 6th November 2007. Mr. Speaker, ever since the statement was made by the Honourable Minister for the Interior, I have been under intense pressure from the chiefs and people of my constituency to verify the truth since this lies at the root of unraveling the controversy that surrounds the disturbances on the 1st of November 2007 in Anloga leading to loss of lives and property. I am also aware that the Chiefs of Anlo have also petitioned Mr. Speaker on this matter. Mr. Speaker, it is my considered opinion that the truth of this matter ought to be established. I believe an opportunity needs to be given to the Hon. Minister for the Interior to explain the conflicting issues in his statement and that of the ?Royal Adzovia clan? to this august house.

Mr. Speaker, I now come to the second part of my statement which touches on the role of the Police and the need for a neutral, impartial commission of enquiry into the disturbances and loss of lives and property in Anloga. Mr. Speaker, surviving victims of the police brutality at Anloga claim that it was the Police that shot and killed the three civilians (two men and a woman). The Police, on the other hand also claim that the loss of one of their colleagues on this illegal mission is attributed to the youth at the shrine. It is also established by cell inmates and confirmed by The Ho District Hospital that another suspect Israel Kwabla Amenume died in Police cells at Ho.

Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that the Ghana Police Service has gone ahead to arrest and detain scores of youth and sent them to the Police cells in Ho. The majority have been released for lack of evidence and the remaining seven suspects have been granted bail and have to report to the Police at Keta once every two weeks.

The question we ask is whether the life of one police officer is worth more than the lives of the four people killed by the Police? Who investigates the killing of the four civilians and to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to book? Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is only fair that this killing is also investigated and the culprits brought to book.

Mr. Speaker, the political twist to this case must also not go without comment. A letter written by the Volta Regional Commander of Police Service, Bernard Guyiri Dery on this matter dated 25th July 2007 was published by the Chronicle and addressed to Dumega Raymond Okudzeto and copied to the Inspector General of Police among others. The contents are unbelievably partisan and grossly unprofessional on the part of a State official and clearly indicate that the installation of Nyonyo Agboada is part of the grand design of some state officials. Permit me to quote paragraph 15 of the said letter ??

.Intelligence indicated that Togbui Sri III and his followers/supporters are true followers of the NPP in the Anlo Constituency and that is the reason why he is hated---? Mr. Speaker, these events, as I have outlined do not make the Ghana Police Service a neutral party in this case. It is important that we have a neutral and impartial investigator in this case. This is the reason why I am calling for the establishment of an Independent Commission of Enquiry into this matter. My people want justice and a swift return to normalcy. Mr. Speaker, I recall that a similar commission of Enquiry was established in the case of the Dagbon Chieftaincy clashes that led to loss of the Ya Na and forty of his followers.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I wish to make the following legitimate demands:

1. To crave the indulgence of Mr. Speaker to call on the Hon. Minister for the Interior Mr. Kwamena Bartels to explain to the august house and the Ghanaian public the apparent conflicting issues in his statement and subsequent claims by the Stool Secretary of the ?Royal Adzovia clan of Anlo? on the nature of notice given to the Ghana Police Service.

2. To crave the indulgence of the President of Ghana, His Excellency J.A Kuffour to establish an Independent Commission of Enquiry into this matter to unravel the cause of this unfortunate incident in Anloga. This will ensure that the rule of law is upheld. We fervently await his action on this matter. Thank You Mr. Speaker for the opportunity and I respectfully crave your indulgence.

Clement Kofi HUMADO (NDC)
Member of Parliament for Anlo Constituency