If citizens get to trust and believe in equitable law enforcement and judicial system, impunity, disregard to and disrespect for law & order will remarkably be minimised.
That vicious circulation of unpleasant, despicable demonstration of lawlessness that disgraces and constantly undermines the drive and efforts to achieve and maintain the very tenets of liberal democracy. The sites of hords of thugs from whichever side marauding in vicious anger towards their human targets. Surely, the ruling classes of all colours should know that this is not how to conduct and participate in democracy.
Nkurasi sem
The site of a deranged character, even in the presence of and in the midst of well-armed security officers and law/order enforcers, a mad man running amok through a cascade of security formation lines, in order to dive or fly towards a target, to headbutt a woman. This is not something we should laugh at or be taken lightly as just another unfortunate occurrence. This, reminiscent of a grievous voilent incident Dr. Tony Aidoo once told me about his experience in Kumasi during CPP/UP/Mate meho days when a woman suspected to be from opposing camp was chased and lynched in his grandma’s compound.
No justification for Ablekuma. Not one bit
I mansa musa witnessed something similar, though in my case the woman being beating mercilessly by three macho men during 1969 Progess Party/NAL political campaign. She managed to survive. Nobody, adult, youth or senior citizen, should take pride in what happened at Ayawaso wagun and at Ablekuma North election rerun. The attempts by some to equate or compare the two is rather unfortunate and unacceptable. And any justification for what has happened in Ablekuma as a payback for Ayawaso West Wugun is very unfit and unrefined indeed.For non-Ghanaians, Ayawaso and Ablekuma are not located in some remote part of Ghana.
This two are prominent suburbs in the Accra metropolis. We are talking of a central suburbs of Accra, the capital. A dangerous and disturbing spectacles that should easily be blamed on a defective criminal justice system in Ghana. A defective criminal justice system caused by years of political interference and manipulations. The selective application of rule of law by the criminal justice system is the cause and the main underlining factor of all impunity in Ghana.
Criminal Justice System has failed
The composition of our security and law enforcers units are so eviscerated that its presence in the scheme of things is now near incongruous to a large degree. In simple language, unfit for purpose. This has come as a result of the overly politicised and in complete partisanized state to such an extent that groupings of party caucuses has emerged within units and departments with the armed forces and the police. Ranks are divided along NDC/NPP lines.
A recipe for the incoherent, unsatisfactory display anytime the system is called upon or is required to perform.The trust amongst troops, esprit de corps, that vanguard, the vital ingredient necessary for effective and successful law enforcement is removed hence the near-damaged, near-collapsed hollow quantities of law enforcement and security agencies we are left with today. True professionalism in the systems is completely non-existent in institutions that should be set and sit above all else ie, partisan interests. This has to change. It’s got to be fixed, and quickly.
The rot and disjointed security agencies aside, the reason this escalating impunity in episodes of violent behaviour and the growing lawlessness in society, that blame should be placed at the doorsteps of the dysfunctional and disfunctioning judicial system. The Judicial system, also highly politicised to the extent that today, the well-known, the open secret is that judges owe their allegiances not to the sovereign and its laws but rather to the higher authority that appointed or nominated them. How can there be equity. When citizens know and believe that lawless behaviour and violence of all sorts will be dealth with properly by the courts irrespective of political or social status, impunity will be minimised.
Imagine if a senior judge had put a restraining order on Hawa Koomson’s public appearances for her alleged part in the shootings that occurred at Kasoa. If as we stand, those hooligans who took part in unlawful invasion of a court in Kumasi and released suspects on trials. If those who took part in that unsavoury acts at Ayawaso West Wugun. If the killings in the 2020 elections. If citizens know that the killings of some Zongo boys in Kumasi and the gruesome killings at Mine site in Obuasi.
If Ahmed Suale, if JB Dankwah killing has not been relegated to the back shelf. A lot of ifs. Our state, our country is not being governed properly. Until and unless the planned and prescribed reset agenda is taken seriously. Unless all systems are fine-tuned to a proper re-engagement to fit the purpose, the current trend of crime busting agencies from overseas coming to conduct investigations on our behalf will continue. The where is or what is sovereignty. The whole judicial system so polarised such that many Ghanaians are of great doubts that the recent efforts of the ORAL agenda will amount to anything tangible. Rather very sad, very dangerous, very worrying.
If any of the high profile killings had been dealt with properly. If previous beatings here and there had had proper and professional treatment by courts up and down the country. In the nutshell if our law enforcement and the criminal justice system had been half-decent. If we had good rulers and leaderships that would hand over troublemakers to the law enforcement agencies rather than shielding and protecting them. If crooks and thugs knew that their criminal acts will not be countenanced by political party hierarchy. Imagine if the guy who stole and tried to chew a ballot paper in parliament had been given even a suspended jail sentence. If giving and taking of bribes, some in public domain was and is treated with iron fist of law, just imagine.
In this UK kingdom even the shooting dead of a terrorist by the police is still investigated impartially by the state.
If the discharge of firearms even by authorised persons are treated by the courts with any seriousness as the case is in Britain where even the shooting dead of a terrorist by the police is still investigated impartially by the state. If IGPs will not wait for a president’s directives on a criminal matter before conducting investigations. Just imagine if our Judicial system worked. That disgraceful, dangerous vicious cycle of dirty primitive tit for tat will grind to a halt. Let’s start by making sure that our Judiciary system works effectively and efficiently. With that, cometh the true definition of democracy with the rule of law.
