Parliament Probes Fulani Mayhem

Parliament has set up a 13-member committee to probe the activities of nomadic/Fulani herdsmen which have resulted in reckless mayhem and deaths in various parts of the country. As its terms of reference, the committee is to investigate allegations of misconduct including criminal acts by herdsmen in Dwerebease, Agogo, and Afram Plains generally and other parts of the country. It is also to investigate the ethnic background of the herdsmen and enquire about how they enter the country, the effect of their activities on human life, property and the environment. Furthermore, the committee is to make recommendations to forestall future occurrence of such incidents, and any other recommendations that it may deem appropriate. The committee has Dr. Ahmed Alhassan Yakubu, who is also the MP for Mion, as Chairman; Joseph Boahen Aidoo, MP for Amenfi East as Vice Chairman; Haruna Bayirga, MP for Sissala West as member; Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, MP for Weija, member and Hajia Rafatu Halutie Dubie Alhassan, MP for Sissala East, member. Other members include Albert Abongo, MP for Bongo; Simon Edem Asimah, MP for South Dayi; Theophilus Chaie Tettey, MP for Ablekuma Central; Francis Kojo Arthur, MP for Gomoa West; Wiafe Peperah, MP for Abetifi; Kwame Anyimadu Antwi, MP for Asante Akim North and Dominic Nitiwul, MP for Bimbilla. The parliamentary committee followed the killings of 12 Fulani herdsmen, with dozens injured after some irate Konkombas reportedly launched an overnight attack on them in some settler farming communities in the Gushegu District in the Northern region. Approving the membership of the committee, the House cautioned against criminalization of tribes and ethnic groups in the country as this had the tendency to create security problems in Ghana and in the West African sub-region. Ambrose Dery, Deputy Minority leader who is also the MP for Lawra/Nandom; Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, MP for Manhyia and Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, MP for Asawase, condemned the labeling of all Fulanis as foreigners and trouble makers. They were all unanimous that crime must be treated as crime and dealt with within the ambit of the due process of law, irrespective of the personalities or the ethnic group involved. “There are Ghanaians of Fulani descent, therefore, we should not consider every Fulani as a non-Ghanaian”, Mr. Ambrose Dery pointed out, adding, “There is no room for Ghanaians to take the law into their own hands. We cannot get people killed without due process of law”.