The Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament has recommended the establishment of a bipartisan committee to investigate the police shooting of live bullets into student protesters at the Islamic SHS in Kumasi.

Members of the Committee were tasked by the Speaker of Parliament on June 14, a day after the incident happened, to visit the Islamic SHS, the IGP and the Ashanti Regional Police Command and acquaint themselves with regards to the incident and report to the House.

A month after, the Committee has concluded its report and has made some recommendations to the House.

Among its recommendations, the Defence Committee wants the Urban Roads Director in the Ashanti Region to be sanctioned for failing to provide speed ramps on that stretch of the road in front of the school.

The Committee also faulted the action of the police in their handling of the situation and recommended an immediate provision of speed ramps.

“The Committee concludes that the Ghana Police Service lacks the appropriate logistics to enable the Service to respond appropriately to challenges of crowd control. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Parliament should set up a bipartisan committee to further investigate the matter.

“The Committee again concludes that the uproar by students of the Islamic SHS was necessitated by lack of appropriate road traffic infrastructure and speed control for easy crossing by pedestrians and students.

“The Committee request the Ministry of Roads and Highways as a matter of urgency to provide pedestrian crossing and speed ramps to ensure safe usage of the road by both motorists and pedestrians,” Chairman of the Committee, Kennedy Agyapong said on the floor of the House on Thursday.

Ranking Member on the Committee, James Agalga argued that the police cannot be allowed to investigate itself because it will usually absolve itself of wrongdoing.

“The police, Mr. Speaker, has been fingered in this matter for using gratuitous force in controlling crowds made up of very young students and so when you allow them to investigate themselves the end results will be that the investigation will be skewed,” he said.