US embassy cable - 04ACCRA2503

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 002503 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: GH, PGOV, PHUM 
SUBJECT: DEATH OF CPP POLITICIAN IN GHANAIAN MILITARY 
CUSTODY 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. (SBU)  On December 9, Convention Peoples Party (CPP) 
politician Alhaji Issah Mobila, died in Tamale, capital of 
the Northern Region of Ghana, while in military custody on 
charges of possession of weapons.  The police and military 
are investigating.  The opposition NDC party alleges Mobila 
was abused before his death.  The situation is likely to 
remain under control.  However, Tamale has a history of 
violence, including during the December 7 election, and the 
city remains somewhat tense. End summary. 
 
------------------------- 
DEATH IN MILITARY CUSTODY 
------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU)  On December 9, Alhaji Issah Mobila, an Andani 
activist and Northern Regional Chairman of the Convention 
Peoples, Party (CPP), was arrested by the police in Tamale 
on suspicion of dealing in arms. He was accused of helping to 
distribute firearms to a number of communities around Tamale 
prior to the elections. The police later turned him over to 
local military custody. According to Ghanaian military 
sources, the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) announced 
before the election that anyone caught committing violent 
acts during the election would be detained by the military, 
not the police. The decision reportedly reflected a fear that 
police stations were vulnerable to attacks and thus too 
dangerous for detainees during election time. (Note: Such mob 
attacks on police stations to protest detentions have 
happened in the past year in Ghana. End note). Mobila died 
the same night while in military custody, of unknown causes. 
 
3.  (U)  The Inspector General of Police quickly formed a 
commission to investigate the incident. On December 15, he 
sent a team of police investigators to Tamale to look into 
this and other election-related deaths in the city. According 
to local press, a pathologist was sent to the area on 
December 17 to conduct an autopsy. 
 
4.  (U)  The NDC has urged calm while the police 
investigation is ongoing. The party blamed Mobila's death and 
the general state of insecurity in the north on NPP 
functionaries and the security agencies. Obed Asamoah, 
National Chairman of the NDC, called on security agencies 
&to protect the life and property of members and supporters 
of the party." He warned that if security agencies are 
perceived as either unwilling or unable to do so, an 
explosive situation is in the making.  The NDC has demanded a 
judicial inquiry into Mobila,s death insisting that he died 
in custody as a result of torture at the hands of security 
agencies. The NDC also alleged that it has been subjected to 
abuses and harassment by NPP supporters, particularly in the 
north, following the elections. 
 
5.  (U)  While the NPP initially did not make a statement 
about Mobila's death, on December 15, the Minister of 
Information, Nana Akomea, responded to Mr. Asamoah's 
accusations, stating that the death of CPP leader Mobila 
should not be politicized by the NDC. He also stated that, in 
addition to the IGP's investigation, the region's Army 
Commander has set up a Board of Inquiry to determine how and 
why Mobila died in military custody. The CPP has urged calm 
while the police investigate. 
 
6.  (SBU)  Tamale remains somewhat tense, although reportedly 
not as tense as last week. Police have orders from the REGSEC 
to "return fire for fire", which is reportedly helping deter 
violence. Local police and military reportedly rounded up 
suspected trouble makers last week, later releasing most of 
them.  According to one NGO contact in Tamale with good 
access to the police, as of December 16, less than 20 of 
those rounded up remained in police detention.  At least one 
group has threatened violent revenge for the Mobila death. 
Civil society groups have been actively urging peace over the 
past few days and Tamale Muslim leaders have urged local 
authorities to retrieve firearms in the city.  Mobila's 
funeral later on December 17 may help put some of the 
immediate tensions to rest. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
7. (SBU)  It is rare in today's Ghana for someone to be 
detained, much less die, in military custody.  In the 
Northern Region, however, the military has been involved for 
some time in the arrest and detention of civilians suspected 
of inciting violence.  The quickly launched police and 
military investigations in this high profile case are 
encouraging.  The police and military are perceived by many 
in the region as biased toward the NPP, especially in light 
of slow movement toward justice in the 2002 murder of the 
Ya-Na (traditional Dagbon chief). For the moment, with all 
parties urging calm and an active police investigation, the 
situation is likely to remain under control.  However, this 
case is delicate and has the potential to spur other violence 
in the volatile Northern Region.  Mobila's Andani identity 
may fan flames of Andani-Abudu animosities (a dispute over 
leadership of the Dagbon chieftaincy.)  In contrast to the 
Tamale tension, the atmosphere in the rest of Ghana 
post-election has been generally peaceful.  Most Ghanaians 
have moved on from election issues to a Christmas mode. 
LANIER