Six people who were shot at the Techiman South collation center during the 2020 elections and sustained varied degrees of injuries have been ordered by the Wenchi High Court to receive GHc45,000 in damages from the state.
Following the 2020 legislative election, unrest broke out at the collation center prior to Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah being sworn in as the newly elected member of parliament.
Two people were killed and numerous others were injured when the security opened fire in an effort to calm the scene.
The impacted applicants filed a case in high court, claiming that their right to life—which is protected by article 13 of the 1992 Constitution and other international laws—had been violated.
The Attorney General’s office admitted there were shootings but claimed officers only fired warning shots to disperse a crowd they said was trying to disrupt the vote count and harm election officials. They argued that the use of force was justified and denied that the injuries were caused by the security officers, suggesting instead that gunfire from within the crowd might be responsible. However, the court disagreed, finding evidence that security officers shot directly into the crowd without justification. The court ruled the shooting was indiscriminate and violated the plaintiffs’ right to life. Although the court did not award the full damages requested by the plaintiffs, it ordered a compensation of GH₵45,000 for each applicant.
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