Constable George Akwei
A policeman, Constable George Akwei, aka Fastapee, has been caught celebrating police brutality against protesters who were demanding a change of the existing voters’ register.
Last Wednesday, September 16, 2015, the ‘Let My Vote Count Alliance’ (LMVCA) together with other pressure groups like the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), Movement for Change (MFG) and a host of others led a group of Ghanaians to hit the streets of Accra to demand for an entirely new register.
Their bid to go and picket at the headquarters of the Electoral Commission (EC) was met with stiff opposition from armed policemen who subjected them to hefty beating resulting in many casualties, including one person who was shot in the eye in the heat of the mêlée.
The police have since come under wide criticism for their high-handedness even though they have justified their action, with an explanation that the protestors did not follow the approved route and wanted to flout a court order which asked them not to go and picket at the EC office.
Interestingly a day after the incident, one young police constable, George Akwei, suspected to be part of the presidential security detail, could not hide his excitement; he was all over Facebook virtually applauding the act.
This was when he shared pictures from the Daily Graphic Facebook page on his wall in which policemen were seen beating some of the protesters.
George Akwei posted an emoticon saying, “Feeling excited” with an accompanying post which said, “Hahahahahaha Gh is sweet.”
Earlier on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 after the demonstration came to an abrupt end due to police brutalities, he posted on his Facebook timeline from Ekumfi Otuam, the hometown of late President Mills where President Mahama was commissioning a new school project, “If u know the right thing and u refuse to do it then I guess a stupid person will force u to do it and at the end who act stupidly? THE STUPID ITSELF what a world full of shits hmmmmm.”
A day later, people noticed his post and started condemning him for celebrating such inhuman acts against none but the very citizens for who he is paid to protect, while others promised to draw the attention of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) attention to his public comments for administrative measures to be taken against him.
People took screen shots of his posts and started sharing it on various social media networks, including Facebook and Whatsapp.
His Facebook post and pictures went viral, catching public attention.
Moments later, the police constable decided to delete the distasteful post and later shut down his Facebook account and has since left Facebook.
Earlier on September 1, 2015, he posted a picture of himself in police uniform by a vehicle saying, “Feeling positive. Due time and district assembly elections is over, rehearsing for next presidential election lol.”
By Charles Takyi-Boadu