Public interest advocate Rodaline Imoru Ayarna has expressed outrage over a viral video showing a man, alleged to be a military officer, physically assaulting workers and a customer at a pharmacy located within Burma Camp.
He described the incident as “an embarrassment” to the Military High Command.
The video, which has sparked widespread condemnation, shows the man dressed in civilian clothes slapping a female customer, punching a male attendant in the stomach, and striking him across the face.
Eyewitnesses say the feud began when the man demanded a refund of GHS 65 for medication, he had earlier sent a boy to buy.
When told that opened drugs could not be returned for refun, he reportedly became violent.
Reacting to the incident, Mrs. Ayarna said she was shocked by the conduct of someone believed to be a trained member of the Ghana Armed Forces.
“I don’t know how we got here for a person who’s supposed to be disciplined, a member of the Ghana Armed Forces, to behave this way,” she said.
“I just can’t believe that. But thank God he was not in uniform. At least I can call him a civilian because he was off duty.”
“To think that he came from the forces is very embarrassing for the CDS and for the Ghana Army commander this morning,” she remarked.
Mrs. Ayarna lamented that recent incidents involving military personnel have raised serious concerns about the discipline and recruitment standards within the Armed Forces.
“We’ve had problems with the military of recent. We’ve had cases where they’ve fought with policemen, and even been involved in robberies. These are not concocted stories. It makes you question how they are being recruited these days,” she said.
She recalled that the late Defence Minister, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah had once raised concerns about unqualified persons being recruited into the military.
“He was not happy about the recruitment of army officers who he felt were not qualified. Some did not go for training, some didn’t have medicals, but they found themselves in the system,” she noted.
According to her, the problem stems from political interference and mass recruitment of party loyalists into the security services.
“It seems we have just been packing the military and the police with party men and women and these are the results,” she stressed.
“The armed forces is a specialized unit. They are trained to kill. For people like that, you need a certain mindset and qualification.”
Mrs. Ayarna, who was once married into the military and lived within its ranks for over two decades, said today’s Ghana Armed Forces is not what it used to be.
“This is not the Ghana Armed Forces I knew. I married into it and stayed for 21 years. From the 60s through to the 90s, the Ghana Army was something to be proud of. We were respected on U.N. peacekeeping missions. But this is not the same army anymore,” she said.
She called for politics to be completely removed from the running of the Armed Forces.
“We should remove politics and let the system function. This constant meddling in the affairs of the military is what brings out these kinds of people,” she warned.
Mrs. Ayarna also alleged that some indiscipline cases within the army are often swept under the carpet due to interference from powerful individuals.
“It will surprise you that some high-up somewhere will ring and say, ‘This person should not be court-martialled or sacked.’
So maybe they just transfer the person elsewhere,” she revealed.
Condemning the Burma Camp assault, she said no provocation justified such conduct from someone trained to handle force responsibly.
“This is a person trained to kill, and you can see him in Rambo style, throwing arms and things around. No matter what happened even if they owed you 65 Ghana cedis, you could have reported to the police. You don’t take the law into your own hands,” she said.
She concluded by calling for swift and severe punishment for the suspect and a broader review of discipline and recruitment processes within the Ghana Armed Forces.
“We have to sit up with the military. This person must be punished severely,” she insisted.
