Being at AD IDEM

He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it. Plato. Members of the Delta Force in Kumasi, who were convicted with fines last Tuesday, for rioting and assaulting the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, have now become more wretched than the man they mauled.

But what happened last week when supporters of the convicts stormed a circuit court in Kumasi and enabled them to escape from lawful custody has aroused a common feeling among us. We now appreciate that what is abominable must be condemned  by all and that it serve no useful purpose to condone deviant behaviour for whatever partisan political gain.

Well-meaning Ghanaians must heave a sigh of great relief that at long last, deviants who devoted their energies to bestiality in the name of partisan politics, have been subjected to the rule of law and due process and have been punished accordingly. It is heart- warming that the hoodlums were dealt with by a court and not pardoned by a politician. Moreover, those who helped the 13 convicts to escape from lawful custody when they were initially remanded to custody have themselves been remanded. They would learn and know that as Eric Hoffer has postulated, “rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.”

From politicians across to religious and business leaders, the Judiciary and government machinery, we united in our condemnation of the pandemonium that was created at the court and enabled the convicts to escape last week. We were at ad idem that what happened was despicable and must not be repeated anywhere in the country. Indeed the united public outcry could have been the reason that forced the Inspector General of Police to travel to Kumasi to reassure us that they could prove themselves equal to the task.  They lost any plea for mercy and although the penalty imposed on them might not appeal to every Ghanaian as punitive enough, at least an example has been set that you cannot commit a crime and escape punishment because you are a loyal supporter of a ruling political party.

We have to move on as a nation.  For although there were a few people who seemed to have shown sympathy for the convicts, no formal effort was made to mobilise public support for the deviants and compel government to free them or deal with them leniently from the political angle as was the case with the Montie Three. In that instance, the three convicts who had in an innuendo, openly threatened the Chief Justice and the Judiciary, for which they were convicted, had government functionaries and Ministers of State, including otherwise highly respectable individuals, appending their signatures to an appeal to have the President grant them a pardon.  The Council of State unfortunately got embroiled in the needless and unjustifiable appeal for clemency.

Yes, the Montie Three did not commit any physical assault on a court,  as happened with the Delta Force members in facie curiae, but what they did with the free exercise of speech was as dangerous as the escape from lawful custody.

I am only recounting the past not to glorify any bestiality, but to remind all of us that the time has come for us as Ghanaians to have a common voice on matters of national importance. That way we can all speak with a united and common voice in the condemnation of criminal activities perpetrated under the guise of political partisanship.   Indeed, we should and must never eulogise criminals and crimes because of perceived politically partisan interests.

In the coming days, we must focus on what must be done to stem the resort to impunity by party activists who think that the only way they can influence government decision is not through dialogue but impunity and violence. We must not   turn the discussion on the dastardly event  into a puerile and thoughtless politically partisan competition, to decide which political party hoodlums have undertaken the most devious and daring criminal acts with impunity and brazen  effrontery.

When the escape from lawful custody occurred in Kumasi, it was the democracy and constitutional dispensation of the country that was under attack.  We became the butt for derision from the outside world.  We all felt a sense of shame. It was a sad moment for Ghana and we must all be remorseful.

No political party supporter has the right to resort to violence because they disagree with any appointment made by the President. To do so undermines and threatens our constitutional democracy and the rule of law. Let nobody take the law into his own hands when the appointments of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives are announced.  We must recognise and respect the authority and powers of the President.

Let us soberly reflect on the observance of the death of Our Lord Jesus Christ so that we can benefit from His selfless sacrifice.