What sports journalists are saying about brutalization of Ashaiman residents by soldiers

Tuesday, March 7, 2023, is a day some residents of Ashaiman would not want to remember as they were brutalized by armed soldiers who according to the Ghana Armed Forces were conducting a swoop to find the perpetrators of the murder of a 21-year-old soldier, Sherrif Imoro.

Trooper Imoro Sherrif is reported to have been stabbed to death by some yet-to-be-identified persons at Ashaiman, forcing the military to storm the area to brutalize residents.

“GAF wishes to state categorically that the military operation, which was sanctioned by the Military High Command, was NOT to avenge the killing of the soldier but rather to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime,” the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) said in a statement while adding that they picked up about 184 suspects aged between 21 and 47 years old.

These individuals, according to the statement, have since been handed over to the military police.

The government through Deputy Minister for Defence, Kwaku Amankwa Manu has said they will not apologize for the presence of the armed military men in Ashaiman.

The military operations in Ashaiman has triggered reactions from the general public with majority of Ghanaians condemning the actions of the Ghana Armed Forces.

Some notable sports journalists added their voice to calls for the military to apologize for what they consider to be abusive, illegal, and repugnant actions in Ashaiman on Tuesday.

Below are some of the reactions of some sports journalists on the issue.

"Kwami if the operation was for the perpetrators of the crime, then I would support it 200 percent but the innocent people who were affected by the operation make it harsh," Dan Kwaku Yeboah said on Peace FM.

Mr President, @NAkufoAddo if you and the civilian leadership of this nation allow the military to get away with what happened in Ashiaman yesterday, you will not only be emboldening them.

You will be supervising lawlessness and a complete disregard for the rule of law.
— Veronica Commey (@VeronicaCommey) March 8, 2023

The last sentence before the last paragraph is a shameful admission for which they conspicuously did not offer an apology for. "Regret" is not enough. https://t.co/WuL4x9fdJD
— Fiifi Anaman (@fiifianaman) March 8, 2023

Downright lawlessness. It’s like we’re at a war front where limbs are broken and people are maimed! How does a whole community get brutalised in this manner in modern day Ghana — a society supposedly under the rule of law?
— Jerome Otchere (@JeromeOtchere) March 7, 2023