Rev. Prof Martey urges President to end all forms of vigilantism
The Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey, a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has appealed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to urgently end all forms of vigilantism in the country.
“We must protect the stability of this country with patriotism and employ modern approaches to security and, I daresay, that if the current evil trend of party vigilantism is not axed, the nation will greatly suffer from the activities of these bullish deviants, employed by some political parties,” Rev. Prof Martey.
“I, therefore, call on the President of the nation to act swiftly to end all acts of vigilantism in this country. I want to believe that the President’s support for a speedy investigation into this matter will lead to a conclusive investigation so that the perpetrators of this crime will be punished”, he said.
Rev Prof Martey said these in a statement he issued, in Accra, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in reaction to the Thursday, January 31 violent incident, in Accra, which saw seven persons hospitalized with various degrees of injuries.
It involved some security operatives and some National Democratic Congress (NDC) agents at the La Bawaleshie residence of Mr Delali Brempong, the NDC Candidate in the just-ended Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.
Rev. Prof Martey said the violence and insecurity on the Election Day ridiculed the democratic credentials of the Nation.
“Enough is enough! We are not in a jungle state. I join many Ghanaians in totally condemning this barbaric act of violence, which has dented our democratic credentials as a nation,” he said.
“I am still shocked at the presence of masked heavily-built men under the guise of National Security at some polling stations. The participation of these men at the by-election was unnecessary and no amount of security explanation can justify such a cruel and monstrous display of security”.
He urged the security authorities to do a professional job towards bringing the culprits to book and advised them to resist political interference in their affairs, which had been the trend.
“Security in this country has been too politicized. Those in security must not be controlled by political parties,” he emphasized.
He said it was important for citizens to speak up against such excesses, adding that, “when good people keep quiet, evil people take over.”
The Former Moderator advised the citizenry not to be complacent, especially those who have been given the mandate to govern.
“We must not take any peaceful atmosphere in the country for granted. This country is ours! Such a lawless act must never happen again to destroy our country”.
Source: GNA