Soldier assaults woman for wearing camouflage trousers.

Miss Ewura Oye Felde, who had arrived in Accra to take part in a Voluntary Workcamps Association (Volu) summer camp in Ghana was assaulted by two soldiers on the streets of the Ghanaian capital on Thursday, June 18.

Oye`s “crime” was only because she was wearing camouflage trousers.

The young woman, who had arrived from Berlin, where one could buy a pair of camouflage trousers at any street corner of the German capital was severely assaulted two soldiers, Private Nii Adjetey and his companion (name not immediately available, also a private in the army) on her way to register at the Volu office.

Reports reaching AfricaNewsAnalysis (ANA) in Berlin indicate that, Oye, accompanied by her neighbour, Nana Nyarko, got down at the Ministries and were walking towards the Bank of Ghana area when they overtook when they overtook two soldiers (Privates) in Camouflage going in the same direction.

Oye was on the telephone with her aunt Afua who was trying to find out where they were and how long it would take them to reach the Volu office where a driver from her office was waiting with Oye’s registration fees.

One of the soldiers shouted at Oye to stop, but Oye did not hear it at all since she was talking to her aunt.

Nana Nyarko, the companion drew Oye’s attention to the soldier, and since Oye has no experience with the terrorising attitudes of some members of the Ghanaian military establishment and also didn’t know why she was being told to stop, she just told the soldier she wants to finish the phone call so she can give her attention to what he wants to tell her. Before she could even end her sentence, one of the soldiers slapped her.

Then Oye tried to ask him what right he had to slap her and why.

The whole thing became a scene in which the two soldiers asked her where she got the camouflage trousers from and that she had no right to wear them.

The companion also got slapped by the soldiers for “defending Oye”.

A crowd gathered and between slapping and insults, two policemen passing by came and put handcuffs on Oye. Their explanation was that if they arrested Oye and made the case a police case, the soldiers would go away and the whole thing come to an end, but the soldiers tried to undress Oye and remove her trousers, and one of them slapped Oye even though she was handcuffed and in the “custody of the Police”.

After pleadings from the public not to strip her naked by a woman, Nana Nyarko ran to a nearby Oburoniwaawu stall and instantly bought Oye a new pair of trousers.

After a long argument, the soldiers agreed that Nana Nyarko should take Oye to a private place to help her change her trousers, notwithstanding, they followed her to observe the proceedings.

Then the two thugs took the trousers away. One only hope that they will hand the camouflage trousers over to the military authorities. If not, that amounts to daylight robbery. Such thugs have no business being in the army.

The police took Oye to the Police station, where they took her statement, gave her forms to go to the hospital for treatment for her swollen face:

The Police say the case has to go to the Military Police at a later stage.

According to Nana Nyarko, one of the soldiers is called Nii Adjetey. The other, whose name he did not note as a result of the nervous situation was fair, so he calls him “Red”.

Observers believe the entire episode smacks of ignorance on the part of members of the military establishment regarding the letter and spirit of the democratic dispensation currently in practice in Ghana.

Such thuggery in a civilised society is deeply disturbing, to say the least.

It is high time, they say, for the men and women in uniform to realise that no one was above the law in the country and hence it was the epitome of stupidity to mete out such brutality to civilians.

Perhaps, the Chief of the Defence Staff should endeavour to enlighten the public on the following burning questions:

Is it a crime in Ghana to wear camouflage trousers?

When the police take up a case, do soldiers have superceding powers where they beat up the victim in front of the police officers?

Are soldiers supposed to be under civil rule or not?

What are the procedures if a soldier arrests somebody? Does he beat the person up or hand the person over to the appropriate authorities?

Are soldiers allowed to take the law into their own hands?

The two thugs must be fished out and made to face the full rigours of the law as stipulated in the provisions of Ghana`s democratic Constitution.