Aspects of Commission of Inquiry' sitting may be televised- Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says aspects of the sittings of the Commission of Inquiry to probe into the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election brutalities may be opened to the general public and the media. 

According to the Minister, the final report of the commission will be made available to the public.

Oppong Nkrumah said the move will ensure the credibility of the process and its final outcome.

In an interview with Citi FM monitored on PrimeNewsGhana, the Minister said: “Let us have an open house inquiry where the media will be invited so we view this on live TV,

"This will enable some of us following sitting to know how this will go just so that in 2020, we will all be assured that we have learnt lessons and those who do this will be punished and those who are planning to do same, will know that they will be shamed and punished,” 

He added that “In this instance, this is a public Commission of Inquiry, this is a presidential commission of inquiry. I suspect that some of their hearings will be in public. I suspect that their report will be made available for everybody to see what the outcomes are. If the President didn’t want a public exercise in this instance, we wouldn’t even start this enterprise.”

The Minister further downplayed suggestions that just like many other past presidential commissions, the Emile Short commission will have its final report shelved and not acted upon.

The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia with the permission of President Akufo-Addo on Wednesday, February 6, 2019, set up a Commission of Inquiry to look into the election violence that saw uniformed masked men supposedly national security personnel, unleash violence on some citizens.

The Chairman of the Commission is Justice Emile Short. It also has former Dean of the Faculty of Law of GIMPA and private legal practitioner, Mr Ernest Kofi Abotsi as its Secretary.

Henrietta Mensah Bonsu and Patrick K. Acheampong were also appointed as members of the Commission.

Meanwhile, the commission has been given one month to complete its work.

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• Government set up Commission of Inquiry to look into Ayawaso Wuogon violence