Col. Festus Aboagye (Rtd), a security analyst, has stated that one of the core challenges facing the military in Ghana is the lack of democratic control over the armed forces.
He lamented the misuse of military personnel for tasks unrelated to their training and duties, arguing that this misuse has compromised the military, deploying them to roles outside their designated scope.
On July 1, the Minister of Defense, Dominic Nitiwul, urged the military to uphold strict political neutrality before, during, and after the December 2024 polls, emphasizing that their primary responsibility is to protect the nation’s integrity.
Speaking at a public lecture titled “Reflection on Democratic Control over the Military: A Way Forward for Sustainability,” the minister underscored the importance of nonpartisanship within the armed forces.
However, Col. Aboagye, in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on July 2, countered these remarks by stating that there are currently no effective democratic structures, institutions, or individuals ensuring that the military operates strictly within their trained capacities.
“When I told somebody about this lecture, I thought the theme was about the democratic control of the armed forces, but what I heard yesterday was not about that theme. It was about a whole bunch of things that had nothing to do with the democratic control of the armed forces.
“But if we had stuck by that theme, then you take Tekyiman South, Ayawaso, Ashaiman, and the others, and you ask yourself: Where are the democratic structures, institutions, and individuals that must exercise how the armed forces must apply the cohesive force or tools that they have? They have all been compromised. Because people in authority are refusing the armed forces.
“The simple ones are the soldiers in uniform with arms carrying the handbags of lawyers going to represent a political party in court. Another example is a soldier following the Attorney General to court.
“Is that how we go to the military academy and training school to be turned into carrying handbags? When the late queen of England carried her own handbag and umbrella, that did not detract from her status as the queen of England,” he stated.
