CHRI: Violation of natural justice if police investigate themselves
The Head of Africa Office of
the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Mina Mensah has observed that
it is a clear violation of natural justice principle requiring that a man
should not adjudicate upon a matter in which he has an interest.
She explained that “the police are being a judge
and a jury in their own case when they investigate complaints against some of
their personnel because people will not trust results of the investigations
given that the police are interested parties in cases”.
To cure any mischief, Ms Mensah proposed an
independent police complaints unit in response to police investigations into
complaints of assault brought against a police officer, Sergeant Ebenezer
Asiedu of the Police Special Weapon And Tact (SWAT) Unit, by some Ghanaian Times journalists.
Even though the police have launched
investigations into the cases, she said
such a
body would be molded along the same architecture as the independent Electoral
Commission.
According to her, “CHRI, has been working
towards the project since 2007 and has since come out with a research document
on the proposal which is engaging the attention of stakeholders”.
But the proposal for the Independent Complaints
Unit has been challenged by Reverend Professor Paul Frimpong-Manso who is the
President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC).
“We should make the existing police work, if
they don’t work we should sack them, it is not necessary to form another
association, which will also survive by money,” he added.
Malik Sullemana, a court reporter, Raissa Sambou, a reporter and Salifu Abdul- Rahman, an assistant editor, suffered a brutal attack from the officers, leading to two of them being hospitalised.
In a separate development, a video went viral in which a commercial bus driver and his conductor beat up a police officer. –myjoyonline.com
