{"id":107500,"date":"2025-01-12T06:04:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-12T06:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/01\/12\/gun-wearing-leader-sparks-attention-at-ghana-inauguration\/"},"modified":"2025-01-12T06:04:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T06:04:02","slug":"gun-wearing-leader-sparks-attention-at-ghana-inauguration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/gun-wearing-leader-sparks-attention-at-ghana-inauguration\/","title":{"rendered":"Gun-wearing leader sparks attention at Ghana inauguration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jan 12 \u2013 Burkina Faso\u2019s military leader Capt Ibrahim Traore attracted attention when he attended Tuesday\u2019s inauguration of Ghana\u2019s President John Mahama with a holstered pistol at his waist.<\/p>\n

Some have described this unusual move as a breach of security protocol.<\/p>\n

Others have seen it as a lack of trust in the ability of Ghanaian officials to protect the Burkinabe junta chief.<\/p>\n

It is not clear if Traore had permission to carry the weapon and the new Ghanaian government has not responded to a BBC request for comment.<\/p>\n

While Traore was greeted by loud cheers and applause when his name was announced at the event, some social media users expressed concerns about the weapon in the wake of the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisible weapon by a [head of state] at such an important event, although seen as an assertion of power could also be a symbol of intimidation and raises concerns about\u2026 how we enforce our security laws internally,\u201d Barnabas Nii Laryea wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was insanely dangerous thing to do. It\u2019s not about trust. For national security reasons, this was very reckless and shouldn\u2019t be allowed again,\u201d Seth Dough a lawyer wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Mahama was sworn in\u00a0after beating the candidate from the then governing party, Mahamudu Bawumia, by a large margin<\/a>\u00a0in last month\u2019s election.<\/p>\n

Traore, was one of 17 heads of state present, and his visit came at a time of diplomatic tension in West Africa.<\/p>\n

Burkina Faso, along with two other military-led states \u2013 Mali and Niger, has broken away from the regional bloc Ecowas to form a new alliance.<\/p>\n

Security analyst Vladmir Antwi Danso said that it is unusual for a head of state to carry a sidearm to an inauguration ceremony as the security of the visiting leader is the responsibility of the host.<\/p>\n

He indicated that Ghanaian and Burkinabe security personnel should have discussed the issue to ensure the right protocols were being followed. \u201cEither that wasn\u2019t done or it was poorly done,\u201d Dr Danso told the BBC.<\/p>\n

While another security analyst, Retd Col Festus Aboagye, agrees that the host nation is typically responsible for protecting visiting presidents, he says bilateral arrangements can lead to variations.<\/p>\n

He suggested that a consensus may have been reached to allow Traore to wear his military attire and carry his sidearm, along with some of his personal security detail.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a security breach in the context of how people are saying, [as] if he had taken out the weapon to shoot. That\u2019s a bit far-fetched,\u201d Col Aboagye said.<\/p>\n

The Alliance of Sahel States, made up of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, has accused Ecowas of trying to destabilise their countries. Traore may have had that at the back of his mind when attending the inauguration ceremony.<\/p>\n

But the fact that a military leader was \u201cwielding a gun demonstrating that they have that power of the gun because they\u2019re military leaders and attending an investiture of a democracy is a bit awkward\u201d, Emmanuel Bensah who works on issues of regional integration, said.<\/p>\n

Relations between Ghana and Burkina Faso have been strained, particularly after Ghana\u2019s former President Nana Akufo-Addo accused Traore of harbouring Russian mercenaries.<\/p>\n

Traore\u2019s attendance at the inauguration was seen as a significant diplomatic gesture aimed at normalising relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n

Ghana\u2019s support is crucial in helping Burkina Faso address its deadly militant jihadist insurgency, which poses a threat to coastal West African states.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jan 12 \u2013 Burkina Faso\u2019s military leader Capt Ibrahim Traore attracted attention when he attended Tuesday\u2019s inauguration of Ghana\u2019s President John Mahama with a holstered pistol at his waist. Some have described this unusual move as a breach of security protocol. Others have seen it as a lack of trust in the ability of Ghanaian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}