Interrogation of Capt Budu is an infringement on academic freedoms -IMANI

Bright Simmons

IMANI Ghana says the invitation and subsequent interrogation of one of its Board members over his coup comments is an “infringement on academic freedoms.”

Retired Captain Budu Koomson was invited by the BNI over his comments that the current labour unrest and demonstration are recipes for a coup in Ghana.

But the Director of Development Research at IMANI, Bright Simmons told Joy News the invitation of Captain Budu was unnecessary.

According to him, the retired captain was only engaging in an academic exercise and putting the issues of coup d’etats in their proper historical perspectives and suggesting ways of curtailing any such threat to the country’s fragile democracy.

He said if at all National Security found the comments troubling, it ought to have written officially to IMANI, the institution which has begun academic scrutiny of security issues in Ghana for further explanations and not to invite Captain Budu Koomson for interrogation.

He said such invitations had the potential of restricting the academia from interrogating such serious security issues.

He argued in many developed countries a “scenario modeling” experience is conducted at all times to find whether the country is predisposed to any threat.

But a security expert with the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre Dr Kwasi Aning has disagreed with the views held by retired captain.

He said all governments have suffered a shaky start, adding the strikes and demonstrations are part and parcel of the expression of the democratic practice in Ghana.

He therefore found it unacceptable, attempts by Captain Budu to link a democratic expression like strikes to a possibility of igniting a coup d’etat in Ghana.

He also criticized the strategy the National security apparatus used in dealing with the matter, describing it as “unjustified.”

Dr Aning said a telephone discussion would have resolved the matter.