• Erastus Asare Donkor appeared before the committee to answer some question on his reportage on the disturbance
• He revealed that the seven soldiers fired shots
• He also gave an account of how one of the two victims protected him and his team against the mob
It has come to light that the viral photo of a soldier who knelt and allegedly aimed at protesters at Ejura in the Ashanti Region was not the only person who fired shots.
This is after Erastus Asare Donkor, a journalist with the Multimedia Group, who was on the field on June 29, 2021 revealed that seven military persons fired shots on the day.
Taking his turn at the ministerial committee investigating the disturbances on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, Asare Donkor said the shooting incident last between ‘twenty and thirty’ minutes.
“I saw seven military personnel who engaged in the shooting during the protest. Four came first, and later another three joined them.
“The military initially started firing into the cloud, but later started firing into the protesters and some started falling and others retreating. The shooting went on for about 20 to 30 minutes.”
He also gave a detailed account of how one of the two persons who were killed in the incident provided invaluable service to his team. “When we got to the scene, the youth were angry, and so they told us not to film what was happening, but one of the protesters, now deceased, Nasiru Yussif, spoke to them in Hausa, and they calmed down. So he and another guy formed a ring around us, so we could perform our duties. He was very active, following us wherever we went.
“So they now allowed us to film the demonstration. Some of them were holding sticks, others having knives, and others also wielding machetes. Some of them were also angrily chanting their anger at the death of Kaaka. Nasiru directed which path to go. At a point, he directed us to a story building from which we could film.”
Preceding Asare Donkor’s appearance was the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah who justified his decision to call for military intervention in the matter.
“I’ve used this strategy all this while. This is the first time we have casualties, and I think we should continue with it,” Mr. Osei-Mensah said.
He however added that “there must be more education and communication between the various security agencies as to how to act under such circumstances.”
“So based on this information, I ordered the police and military to go to the town and maintain law and order, and I did so as Chairman of the Regional Security Council because the law grants me that power,” Mr. Osei-Mensah explained.
