The act of hooliganism put up by so-called New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters in the Krachi West Constituency in the Oti Region early this week is reprehensible.
By their action, those who chased out the District Chief Executive (DCE) are no better than thugs. Taking the law in their hands and doing what they did constitute a crime for which investigations must be undertaken prior to their appearance in a court of law.
Our country is ruled by laws and not by the whims and caprices of individuals. We are excited by the swiftness of the police in apprehending the suspects.
We demand immediate investigations into the case without interference from any quarters. We would be disappointed when some hidden forces pull strings to pour cold water on the case if they have not started already. When they make appearances in court and receive the appropriate sanctions, a deterrent will be sent to other bad party guys.
The nonsense about misbehaving simply because one belongs to a ruling party should no longer be encouraged in this country. We have grown past that standard created by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) when they were at the helm.
NPP supporters should not follow that smelly path of not being law-abiding. As a people, laws are made to protect us, and nobody is above these statutes.
It is an affront on the authority of the President to chase out his appointees no matter the level of their perceived underperformance.
The issue of underperformance is not for the party supporters to determine. Sometimes flimsy factors are used to determine the performance of appointees. We know about Members of Parliament (MPs) losing their seats simply because there are infrastructural deficits in their constituencies. These are beyond MPs yet their constituents expect them to lobby efficiently to bring such developments to their electoral areas.
DCEs can easily be attacked because they are unable to provide monies for the party supporters who throng their offices on a daily basis.
It is auspicious that the action of the hooligans and their subsequent arrest is coming on the heels of the consensus reached by the main political parties on the subject of vigilantism in the country.
Vigilantism involves hooliganism by persons largely doing so to further the interest of politicians in most cases. The Krachi men easily pass for vigilantes because for them the DCE must not be holding his position. Their position is at variance with that of the President who appointed him.
When the law enforcement agents are not encouraged to do their work under such circumstances, it will not be long before we witness more serious occurrences in our body-politic.
There are structures to follow when people are aggrieved over issues. Not following these and doing what the Krachi men did should not be allowed in any decent society.
We pray that the consensus reached by the political parties under the aegis of the National Peace Council is real and not cosmetic. Vigilantism and its associated appendage of hooliganism should no longer be made attractive so that the nonsense which occurred in Krachi West and the fatal shooting of an NDC member by his colleague in Kumasi are consigned to the dark pages of our political history.