Victim of 2015 Military Recruits Dismissal Who Now Sells Electrical Appliances Breaks Silence
- A 2015 dismissed Army recruit who now runs an electrical appliance business broke his silence after a viral video he posted sparked public reactions
- He denied claims in the public domain that recruits abandoned training, citing difficulty, describing the dismissal as unfair and based on false accusations
- Richard said he travelled from Bolgatanga for screening and remains emotional about how the incident changed his life
Richard Banigummer, a former military recruit who was dismissed along with more than 500 other GAF colleagues in 2015, spoke about the emotional toll the mass dismissal took on him.
Source: TikTok
Richard's story shot to national limelight after training photos of him went viral, which were compared to a recent picture of him selling electrical goods in a shop. This sparked online reactions, leading to his decision to speak out.
Richard said he initially did not want to respond to the hurtful comments posted online about him, but after reading what was being said, he felt compelled to clarify what he and the other recruits experienced.
Richard's recall of what happened differs from how it has been portrayed online.
The video that triggered his explanation is below:
Many of the online posts conclude that the recruits who were dismissed had quit their training due to it being too hard, and others assumed that they were protesting and had been discharged for that behaviour.
According to Richard, the training at the Army Recruit Training Centre (ART) was conducted in different phases to accommodate two different batches, with him belonging to the second.
Richard Banigummer explained cause of military expulsion
He stated that one of the recruits from the first batch was added to his group after his training advanced to an impressive level. This decision, he said, was reached after the officers in charge of training observed that this particular recruit was a level above most members of Richard's group.
This created an aura around that recruit, making him senior to his peers.
Richard narrated a strange incident that occurred one night when the senior herded the entire group of recruits out deep in the night without any prior instruction or supervision from any member of the training staff.
When the training staff arrived, every recruit who had been sleeping was standing outside.
When they asked what had happened to cause the entire group to be outside at that hour, the senior peer claimed the recruits were complaining about the level of difficulty in their training.
Richard was adamant that no recruit had complained. He described a large number of motivated and determined young men who had committed themselves to completing every phase of their training.
Richard Banigummer argued the dismissal was unfair
He reiterated that the claim made by the senior was completely false and did not reflect the feelings of any member of the group.
In addition, he stated that as a result of this incident, training was effectively shut down for one full week, followed by another week of silence during which the recruits were all sent back to their homes without formal investigation or being given an opportunity to defend themselves.
He believes that the decision taken by the Ghana Armed Forces to discontinue the training of all the recruits was unjustified and that a proper investigation should have been carried out.
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Richard shared that he travelled from Bolgatanga to Accra just to take part in the initial screening process.
He said he never imagined that the video he posted would go viral and insisted that he did not share it to reopen old wounds but to inspire others who may be struggling.
He expressed that even ten years later, the pain remains. Aside from dealing in electrical appliances, Richard is into construction materials and poultry.
Watch the full video of his explanation below:
Source: Instagram
Junior soldiers deserve better- Raymond Kwaku
Previously, YEN.com.gh reported that a veteran soldier, Kwaku Raymond, slammed the Ghana Army for the lack of benefits for junior ranks.
In the US Army, he said he earned more, including benefits such as a housing allowance and more.
Raymond said that he still respects the Ghana Army but believes junior soldiers deserve much better.
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
