A fraud and security management consultant, Richard Kumadoe has appealed passionately to the government to take every necessary step to disband all vigilante groups before they end up consuming everybody.
He said the measures the government will take will give assurance to the people that Ghana is not ready to entertain anything that will disrupt the peace being enjoyed.
Currently, the issue of vigilante groups attached to political parties has come up for strong discussion following the unfortunate actions exhibited by the Delta Force; a group attached to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Kumasi in the Ashanti regional capital.
They were on rampage a couple of weeks ago after a Regional Security Coordinator had been appointed and went on to cause mayhem in the premises of a law court when those involved were brought to be tried.
Their action has sparked public outrage and Kumadoe told DAILY GUIDE that the security agencies need the support of the government and the entire public to be able to stop the vigilante groups in their tracks.
He said “deliberate and or unconscious creating of armed or violent groupings associated to political parties would not help our democratic dispensation,” adding “the government should not hesitate to deal with the situation.”
He stated “forcefully attacking perceived political opponents, seizing and virtual destruction of private and public or government properties and persons have charaterised our political party activities and sometimes it is carried along as overtures into political office governance,” adding “but this must not be countenanced.”
He said the current threat “if not immediately dealt with would rather become breeding grounds of terrorism that creates fear and panic and eventually propel and compel some individuals or groups to arm themselves for self defence or for retaliatory agenda that could degenerate into hooliganism creating a hostile situation for the state and the citizenry.”
He said the time has come for political party leaders, civil society groups to be on the alert and “should take every necessary step to address any issue that associates itself and has the character of political hooliganism with a tendency of disturbing or destabilizing the peace that threatens national security.”
“The security agencies must and should also at all times step up their intelligence gathering activities to forestall all acts of hooliganism with courage and boldness, discharging their duties in a professional manner without fear or favour, so as to maintain public order and confidence in the systems of governance we have chosen for ourselves as Ghanaians,” he added.
By William Yaw Owusu