Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has stated that he was assaulted by a police officer during the “Save the Judiciary” demonstration in Accra on Monday, May 5.
He said the incident occurred at a barricade set up by the police at the entrance of Parliament House.
“Without any provocation, a uniformed police officer stationed behind the barricade—Constable Forson, who is tall, fair, and heavily built—deliberately struck the left side of my chest with full force using his right palm, directly near my heart. The impact of the hit dazed me, and I was visibly shaken and short of breath. In that moment, I spontaneously protested his actions, asking him why he would seek to harm me,” Afenyo-Markin said in a statement he issued last night.
Police Invitation
While the Minority Leader expressed his readiness to file a petition with the Inspector General of Police to demand a full investigation into Constable Forson’s conduct, the police have also written to the Speaker of Parliament requesting Afenyo-Markin’s release to assist in the ongoing investigation regarding the alleged incident.
In a statement, the police indicated they had reviewed several video footages concerning an alleged assault on a police officer by Afenyo-Markin during the demonstration. “The officer in question will also be assisting with the investigation,” the police statement said.
Composure
Further explaining his situation, Afenyo-Markin emphasized that after regaining some composure following the attack, he was assisted to the washroom to wash his face. “Though still unwell, I made a deliberate effort to calm myself down and rejoin the leadership of the delegation to present the petition. I was determined not to let the incident create a scene or derail the purpose of our peaceful protest.”
