26 Suspects Before Court Over Election Violence – Muntaka
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26 Suspects Before Court Over Election-Related Killings, 13 Others Being Pursued – Muntaka
Twenty-six suspects linked to election killings from the 2020 and 2024 general elections have been put before the courts. That’s according to the Interior Minister, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka.
Thirteen others are still being tracked down.
Muntaka briefed the media at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, August 24. He said one of the 26 suspects has since been discharged. The remaining 25 are standing trial.
The other 13 suspects have been identified but not yet arrested. Police are working to bring them in.
Across all the cases investigated so far, a total of 26 suspects have been put before the courts. One has since been discharged, while 25 are currently standing trial, he said.
How the investigations began
Elections in Ghana have not always been peaceful. The 2020 and 2024 polls saw isolated but deadly outbreaks of violence.
President John Dramani Mahama ordered a probe. He set up a Special Investigation Task Force to re-examine every fatal case, find out what caused it, and recommend ways to stop it happening again.
The Inspector-General of Police inaugurated the Task Force on January 16, 2025. It sits within the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service. Its job was to identify, review, and investigate every election-related death from the two polls.
Investigators went through police dockets. They visited the affected sites. They spoke to those involved.
In the end, twelve cases were confirmed six from 2020 and six from 2024. Together, they accounted for fifteen deaths and 40 injuries.
The cases span Bono East, Greater Accra, Bono, Northern, Central, Savannah, and Ashanti. Muntaka said firearms featured in almost all of them. Some involved clashes between supporters of the two major parties. Others involved security personnel firing live ammunition as so-called “warning shots” to control crowds.
What the report to the President contains
A full report on all twelve cases has been handed to the President. It shows how each case first came to police attention. It shows what investigators did under standard procedure. And it shows what changed once the Task Force took over more interviews, fresh field visits, crime scene reconstructions, and forensic work on the evidence.
Every violent incident recorded during the General Elections presents various criminal offences which would have been committed by different persons involved, Muntaka said.
He also revealed something else. He has directed that recommendations from the earlier Ayawaso West Wuogon election violence commission be fully implemented.
The review also turned up procedural lapses. These included breaches of discipline. They included cases where officers on duty failed to act when they should have.
Muntaka drew a clear line here. He said the Task Force’s job is to investigate and prosecute those responsible for deaths, not to relitigate every procedural shortcoming.
He added that some suspects had previously been dragged to court on flimsy charges, even though the same incidents had resulted in deaths. Much of the Task Force’s work went into sorting out which charges could actually be backed by solid evidence.
Police appeal for help
Muntaka said police are still working to track down the remaining 13 suspects. They will also continue supporting the prosecution of those already in court.
He appealed to the public for help.
The public will be duly informed of further developments as investigations and prosecution progress, and the police are also hoping that members of the public who have information on all these other 13 persons being pursued will be most welcome to provide that additional information, he said.
