Security Consultant Richard Kumadoe has described the military deployment in Parliament as part of the security arrangements for Tuesday’s sitting, as a bad precedent and a threat to the country’s security.
According to Kumadoe, deploying the military in Parliament is tantamount to a coup d’état.
His comments follow Parliament’s introduction of stringent security measures for all proceedings starting Tuesday, October 22, in response to the ongoing constitutional debate concerning the status of four parliamentary seats.
“As part of measures put in place to ensure the safety and security of the Rt Hon Speaker, MPs, and Staff, Honourable Members are respectfully to take note of the following: All MPs, Staff, and members of the Press will be screened thoroughly before the entry into the Chamber and bodyguards of MPs will NOT be permitted in the Chamber.
“Vehicles will NOT be allowed to park around the Grand Arena. MPs are to be dropped at the designated drop-off zones within the precincts of AICC. The Ghana Police Service will provide directions to the designated drop-off zone. MPs are requested to wear their parliamentary identification tags. Access to the Chamber will be from 0800hrs and the public will not be allowed access to the public gallery until further notice,” it said in a release issued on Monday, 21 October 2024, and signed by Wing Commander Fredrick Bawa (Rtd), Deputy Marshal of Parliament.
Among other measures, these included the deployment of military forces and K9 dogs to tighten security at the House.
During an interview with Ama Brako Ampofo on the Angel Morning Show on Angel TV, Richard Kumadoe stated that the military deployment in Parliament is equivalent to a coup d’état.
“…But to raise the threat level that someone is coming to bomb parliament, so we need drones, snappier dogs and helicopter, they are coming to disturb everybody with parliamentary sitting. If you send military people to parliament, are they going to arrest the speaker or they are going to arrest the parliamentarians. It is tantamount to coup d’etat,” the renowned security experts said.
The security expert, who also serves as the founder of the Independent Election Security and Compliance Watches (IESCW), added that the military deployment not only raises security concerns but also constitutes a misuse of state resources.
“Do you know that it will bring cost, who bare that cost? There is no sense in it. What you guys are doing is wasting national resources on things that do not matter,” he added.
