Victims of the 2019 Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election shooting incident say government has still not acted on the recommendation to pay them compensation packages.
Security agents deployed to the constituency on the day of the by-election went on a rampage, beating and shooting indiscriminately at polling stations and the residence of the opposition National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) parliamentary candidate.
The Emile Short Committee constitutes and tasked to probe the incident.
The committee among other things recommended that victims of the January 31, 2019 by-election violence should be compensated.
At a meeting with former President John Dramani Mahama, the victims of the shooting incident said none of them has received any payment from the government.
The spokesperson for the victims, Abdul-Razak Garba, stressed that the victims and their families are struggling as a result of the painful experience.
He recounted how some of the assaulted victims went through life-altering experiences with some scheduled for more surgeries, some incapacitated for life, another suffering stroke and one person dead as a result of internal bleeding caused by gun-shot wounds.
The victims and their families were in the office of the former president and the 2020 NDC Presidential Candidate to thank him for his support.
Mr. Garba extended the group’s appreciation to John Mahama for his compassion and for paying for the cost of all their treatment, including major surgeries.
Mr. Mahama in his remarks extended his sympathies to the victims and their families.
He also pledged to continue to support the members in any way that he can but stressed that it is the duty of the state to compensate the victims as recommended.
Mr. Mahama expressed shock at the level of impunity that he said continues to define the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia government, adding that impunity when unchecked leads to unrestrained violence.
He encouraged the victims to hold their heads high and promised that, no matter how long it would take, the NDC would pursue every possible means to ensure that those who committed the crimes are punished and all compensations due to the victims fully paid.
“Ghana must not forget about what happened,” he said.
