Members of Parliament have renewed calls for enhanced security.
This follows this weekend’s near-death experience of Nhyiaeso MP, Kennedy Kankam where three armed men broke into his house.
According to Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, the government must take urgent steps to beef up security for Members of Parliament.
“The country should make a determined effort to provide security for Members of Parliament. We must be very decisive about this because we cannot continue to endanger the lives of Members of Parliament. Many of us have suffered robberies, highway robberies because many of us are not accompanied by security personnel. Two of our colleagues were attacked by armed robbers at Nsawam and Suhum, one other, between Koforidua and Bonsu junction. Two of them were shot at but the robbers missed it. Mr. Speaker, I think the time has come for the state to take a decision on the security of Members of Parliament,” he said.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery has promised to provide security for MPs if they give details of their residential addresses.
“Let me assure all of you that we are interested in providing security for parliamentarians within the context of enhanced security for the whole country. Therefore, there shouldn’t be any contradictions at all in trying to get parliamentarians security. I have made that attempt and I believe that now that it has come up again, I will suggest the Parliamentary Sub – Committee on Defence and Security be given that task to work with the Minister of Interior and the commanders or the various security agencies to work the detail,” he stated.
Nhyiaeso MP hostage
On November 4, 2019, Member of Parliament for the Nhyiaeso Constituency, Kennedy Kankam and his family were attacked by three masked men with arms at his residence. The men took away laptops, phones, an unspecified amount of money and a TV set.
They also took away the MP’s Toyota Land Cruiser but later abandoned it around Kwadaso, a suburb of Kumasi. The police have since retrieved the car.
Though the police in the Ashanti Region have begun investigations into a case, no culprits have been arrested.
