The Ghana Armed Forces is one of the most respected institutions in the country built on discipline, honor, and sacrifice.
Many of our officers are outstanding professionals, diligently serving the nation with pride and integrity. That must be acknowledged. But alongside the dedicated men and women in uniform exists a darker, troubling trend: the recurring pattern of abuse and brutality by some officers, acts that continue to stain the reputation of the institution and torment the very citizens they swore to protect.
The Viral Assault – Burma Camp
A recent viral video showed a soldier brutally assaulting a female customer and a pharmacist inside a pharmacy; slapping, kicking, and manhandling them over what appeared to be a misunderstanding about service. The video sparked public outrage and renewed the national conversation about military abuse of civilians; the footage was horrifying: a man trained to defend life turning that training against unarmed civilians. What began as a misunderstanding turned into a full display of power without control, discipline without purpose.
This isn’t an isolated act. Ghanaians still remember Ashaiman (2023), when soldiers stormed the town at dawn, beating residents after the death of a colleague. In Wa (2021), men in uniform were filmed flogging civilians over a missing phone. From Takoradi to Kumasi, stories of soldiers assaulting civilians have become too frequent, too familiar and too tolerated.
No matter the reason, assault is a crime under Ghana’s Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29), classified as a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment. Uniform or not, no citizen is above the law It’s that simple. Being in uniform doesn’t make it legal, justified, or noble. It makes it worse because the uniform represents the law itself.
The Law Enforcer Who Breaks the Law
The uniform is meant to symbolize service and responsibility, not superiority or intimidation. An officer of the law does not break the law, he upholds it. When men in uniform turn their strength against unarmed civilians, they undermine the very moral code that gives their service meaning. An officer of the law breaking the law is the ultimate contradiction. The badge or uniform does not elevate a person above others; it burdens them with responsibility.
Why do we still see these acts? Is it a lingering colonial mindset, where power was enforced through fear and physical domination? Do some still believe that to be respected, they must first be feared? Being in uniform should not turn one into a demigod. The civilians being brutalized are also nation-builders: lawyers, teachers, nurses, traders, scientists and students: people whose work sustains the very peace the military exists to protect, people whose taxes sustain the very institutions that arm and feed the military
When you Train the Body, Train the Mind Too
We must ask ourselves honestly: what kind of training are our officers receiving? Are they being taught human rights, civil engagement, and the ethics of restraint or only obedience and dominance?
Military training should build discipline, not desensitize humanity, it should not strip away humanity. It should produce disciplined professionals capable of restraint under provocation. When a few officers behave like bullies rather than protectors, the institution must introspect A few officers display behaviors that belong to battlefields, not communities. How do we produce men trained to protect society, but some end up behaving as though they were trained for an animal farm?
The problem may not just be the curriculum, but also the culture of impunity that allows such acts to go unpunished. Until consequences are real, lessons remain empty.
Recording the Truth Should Not Be a Crime
Another recurring issue in Ghana is the attack on civilians for recording brutality. Citizens have been beaten or arrested merely for capturing soldiers on video. But globally, the right to record public officers performing their duties is protected. In the United States, UK, and South Africa, the law recognizes the public’s right to record as long as it does not obstruct operations. In Ghana, no law forbids a civilian from recording an officer committing a crime. So, why should anyone be beaten for documenting abuse? If the uniformed man’s actions are just, what is there to hide? A professional officer should not fear a camera; only the lawless do. A professional should not dread evidence only the guilty do. Trying to destroy recordings or punish citizens for filming is simply a way to erase accountability. A professional should not dread evidence only the guilty do. Trying to destroy recordings or punish citizens for filming is simply a way to erase accountability.
Justice for the Connected & Powerful, Silence for the Poor
The officer caught assaulting the pharmacist has been arrested and that is commendable. But one cannot help but wonder: Would this have happened if the victims were ordinary Ghanaians without influence or connections? We must admit: such swift action only happens when the victims have influence or visibility. If that woman had been a market vendor, a mason, or a poor student, would we still be talking about this?
For too long, poor civilians have suffered abuse with no justice. Many don’t know where to turn, and institutions often ignore them. Leadership routinely overlooks these “small issues,” forgetting that unchecked brutality corrodes public trust in security agencies. The true measure of justice is not how the powerful are treated, but whether the powerless are protected.
We are Better than these Archaic Practices
Ghana has reached a level of democratic maturity where citizens can no longer be treated as subordinates to state power. The days of “fear the soldier” must give way to “respect the soldier for his service.”
It’s time for the Ghana Armed Forces to match its discipline with transparency and self-policing. Public trust is built not by words, but by actions. Soldiers who brutalize civilians must face visible justice, not quiet transfers, training must emphasize human rights and ethical conduct, not blind aggression. The institution must protect its image by purging its ranks of those who stain the uniform.
We must move past the days when the uniform inspired fear. In modern Ghana, the soldier should inspire respect, safety, and confidence. Being a soldier is not a license to brutalize; it is a duty to serve with discipline, not dominance.
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The writer (Jonathan Awewomom) is a Research Scientist based in Miami, Florida, and a Contributor to National Discourse.
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