Recent disturbances involving political vigilante groups is a signal to politicians to rethink the extent to which they will use such individuals or groups in their activities, Osei Kwadwo Addo, a lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), has said.
Pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) vigilante groups, mainly the Invincible Forces and the Delta Force, have been in the news lately for the wrong reasons, especially after the electoral victory of the party in the 2016 polls.
The Delta Force, based in Kumasi, on March 24 stormed the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council and dragged Mr George Agyei, the regional security coordinator, from his office as the well-built men said they would not accept his appointment to the position given he is not native to the region and did not partake in the 2016 electoral campaign that ensured victory for the NPP.
Thirteen of the men were arrested and put before court on Thursday April 6, following which they were remanded in custody, but hell broke loose in court when some supporters of the accused persons aided them to escape from lawful custody while the trial judge had to be whisked away to avoid being assaulted.
The 13 accused persons are back in lawful custody while eight of those who allegedly aided the Delta Force to escape were arraigned today, April 10.
But Mr Addo said the NPP was paying the price for involving vigilantes in its campaign, saying the party had ridden on the back of a lion to war and ended up in its mouth.
He wondered what assurances the party gave members of the vigilante group prior to the 2016 election for which it had become emboldened to take the law into its own hands and demand jobs.
“What exactly did they (politicians) tell the Delta Force boys for them to believe them, for which they worked for them? What reward did they promise them that they are now demanding payment and in the course of that there has been violence?” he questioned in an interview with Nana Agyen Barimah on Accra News on Monday April 10.
He said the vigilante group’s attack on a court last week was a “big disgrace” to Ghana and harks back to the dark days of military rule and advised politicians to consider the extent to which they will involve vigilantes in their activities.
He warned: “We must begin to advise our politicians that the time has come for there to be a limit to the extent to which such boys can be involved in our politics. It should not be just about the quest for power, because if we are just interested in winning power for which reason we would ride on the back of lions for war, you end up in the mouth of the lion.”
The lecturer also urged young persons asked by politicians to play vigilante roles for them to think carefully about such proposals before committing.
“The boys should advise themselves, next time a politician engages you, think twice about it,” Mr Addo added.
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