Ghanaians may lynch themselves to extinction

As far back as October 25, 2006, Mr Richard Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), expressed concern over the increasing incidents of lynching suspected criminals in Ghana. He warned Ghanaians that if such incidents were allowed to continue, many innocent people would be killed.

The human rights advocate made it clear to Ghanaians that lynching was a clear violation of the human rights and dignity of the people lynched. Lynching is nothing but instant justice meted out to suspected criminals. The slippery slope here is that lynching could be used to settle grudges.

Thus, you might not have committed any crime but your antagonist may label you as a thief and encourage others to assault you. Most of the time, it is a matter of somebody shouting a thief or an armed robber and the people around pounce on you without finding out whether you are indeed a thief or indeed an armed robber. Remember that Major Mahama was lynched on May 29, 2017 just because somebody suspected him of being an armed robber. Thus, lynching is a clear sign of the breakdown (in) law and order whereby even innocent people could be lynched without the opportunity for them to defend themselves. Lynching is basically about taking the laws into your hands and it has no place in any civilised society.

Mr Quayson cautioned that if the increasing lynching was not checked, it could also deprive the nation of some of its brilliant youth who could become future leaders. Consequently, he appealed to Ghanaians to assist and ensure that all law enforcement agencies lived up to expectation by providing them (agencies) with information and logistics to make them more effective.

Lynchings

Unfortunately, between 2006 and 2017, many people have been lynched in Ghana. In fact, lynching seems to be a common occurrence in Ghana. There are too many instances of lynching reported in the media (and many not reported by the media) for us to recount here so let’s concentrate on a few unfortunate incidents.

On the day Major Mahama was lynched, a 67-year-old lady, Yednboka Keena, was lynched at Tindongo in the Upper East Region. She was accused of being a witch and then lynched. Just imagine that!

A few weeks after Major Mahama was lynched, a 55-year-old man was lynched at Fetteh Kakraba, a community in the Gomoa East District of the Central Region. Before he was lynched, an operator of a drinking spot accused him of stealing her GH¢1.50.

According to news report, the man, Kofi Amoako Sensen, had finished drinking at the spot and was leaving when the owner of the place accused him of stealing her money. He denied the accusation but the spot owner raised an alarm, drawing residents of the area to the place. Without finding out the truth, those who appeared at the spot took the law into their hands and lynched the man.

On September 30, 2017, three men were nearly lynched at Kokornu, a village near Akuapem-Mamfe in the Eastern Region. The caption in some newspapers was simply, “Three mistaken for armed robbers hospitalised after near lynch.”

At Kokornu, three farmers were beaten to pulp by residents on suspicion that they were armed robbers. According to Chief Superintendent Charles Kofi Adu, Akropong Divisional Police Commander, some residents arrested the victims and inflicted machete and club wounds on them after trailing them on a motor bike. Only the intervention of the police saved the lives of these innocent farmers.

Then on October 17, 2017, mynewsgh.com reported that an unidentified man was found dead in a gutter during the weekend of October 14 and 15 in Wa in the Upper West Region. Considering the multiple wounds inflicted on the man, the police concluded that the man who was in his 40s was lynched by some residents of Wa.

When the video of the brutal lynching of Major Mahama appeared on social media in May 2017, many Ghanaians expressed shock. Ghanaians expected their elected representatives to act aggressively to eschew lynching but as always, not much was done and not much is being done to end lynching.

Personally, I expected the government to embark on an “operation end lynching” and put resources into stopping this menace, but zip! Lynching, which is a mob action, is an extrajudicial punishment by holier-than-thou hooligans. Ghana has laws and should be governed by those laws so anybody who takes the laws into their hands by administering punishment to alleged transgressors should be severely punished to serve as deterrent to others.

No individual has all the solutions to the problems so I will not claim to have all the solutions but I have some suggestions and I encourage others to put forth their suggestions to stop this unfortunate problem which is growing at an alarming rate.

Suggestions

Suggestion 1: The state should put out persistent announcements in the media to remind Ghanaians that mob action is a serious crime that attracts a severe penalty. It should be made clear that perpetrators will be prosecuted at all cost. And perpetrators should be punished severely. I will suggest life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Suggestion 2: The government should put out advert making police/emergency numbers known/available to everybody. I am very sure that most Ghanaians do not know the numbers to call in emergency/critical situations so this will go a long way.

Suggestion 3: The government should print millions of cards with the numbers of police and other emergency numbers on them, and distribute to as many people as possible. In fact, voters IDs and every identity card should have emergency numbers displayed on them. Ghanaians should be encouraged to carry such cards on them wherever they go so that they know what numbers to call in case of an emergency.

Suggestion 4: Every business, as a matter of law, should boldly display emergency and police numbers on and outside their premises.

Suggestion 5: It should be made known in the media that it is the responsibility of every Ghanaian to call the police when they see a mob action or any criminal activity going on. For example, if it is happening in front of your shop or house and you don’t call the police, you could be apprehended as an accomplice.

Suggestion 6: For swift action, the government should provide the police with all the necessary equipment/logistics they need to do their job efficiently. As I write, most police stations in the country do not have service vehicles; and generally the police is under-equipped.

It is the responsibility of the government to protect every Ghanaian so it should take action to end lynching in the country.

Writer’s E-mail : komensah@hotmail.com