We’ll deal with political vigilantism — Interior Minister
The Ministry of the Interior has cautioned citizens against political vigilantism and said it will not hesitate to enforce the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999) to deal with recalcitrants.
The sector Minister, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, said that neither the ruling party nor any group would be allowed to perpetrate acts of violence under the guise of vigilantism.
He gave the caution at the maiden government accountability series in Accra yesterday, where he outlined the ministry’s achievements from January to June 2025.
The minister said that videos of recent vigilante-related incidents, including happenings at Ablekuma North last Friday, had been forwarded to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for prompt action.
“We have instructed the police to bring the perpetrators to book. No individual act or group, whether affiliated to our party or not, will be condoned in undermining public order,” he said.
Achievements
Mr Mohammed-Mubarak said the number of towns that were under curfew in conflict-prone areas had been reduced from 11 to five following improved security and dialogue.
Currently, areas where the curfew is still in force are Walewale, Binduri, Bawku, Sampa, and Nkwanta.
There had also been some breakthroughs in high-profile cases that include the murder of mobile money vendors in Kumasi, Koforidua, and Aflao, as well as the arrest of suspects in the Radiance Filling Station robbery in Bekwai.
A 24-hour Economy Security Desk has also been established at the Police Headquarters to support businesses under the government’s round-the-clock economic agenda.
The minister also disclosed that a recent audit of recruitment across security agencies resulted in the dismissal of 500 personnel found to have been improperly enlisted.
He said the move was part of broader reforms to ensure transparency and merit-based recruitment within the sector.
Mr Mohammed-Mubarak also said that the Ghana Prisons Service had introduced juvenile education programmes and completed the expansion of the Damongo Correctional Facility to ease overcrowding.
With inmate feeding grants pegged at GH¢1.80 per day, he said the ministry had secured funding for a 5,000-layer poultry project, and cultivated 1,654 acres of crops to augment feeding.
Disasters, interventions
The minister said that the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) responded to 3,341 fire outbreaks, conducted 14,234 safety inspections, and trained 5,214 volunteers to combat bushfires.
A new insurance package, in partnership with SIC, provides up to GH¢100,000 cover for personnel injured or killed on duty.
The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) also desilted 248 drains and distributed relief items to 11,524 victims of floods and other disasters nationwide.
He further said that the Ghana Immigration Service prosecuted 13 suspects for human trafficking and intercepted 291 irregular migrants, while the Narcotics Control Commission seized 1,192kg of cocaine and 90kg of cannabis in major busts.
He also announced the digitalisation of 16 core services of the ministry, including permits and licensing, to curb delays and enhance transparency by the end of the year.
The minister added that a collaboration between the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, and the Ghana Immigration Service led to the removal of more than 2,241 street beggars who had since been repatriated to their home countries.
Mr Mohammed-Mubarak said the ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Youth Development for security agencies’ internship to enhance youth employability while supporting the operations of agencies, adding, “The first batch of these interns will commence training on the 16th of this month”.
ID Cards
The National Identification Authority cleared a backlog of 600,000 cards, with 18 million Ghanaians now registered.
“And I can report that within the last six months, we made sure we had a blank card of over 600,000 to make sure the backlogs are cleared,” he said.
Also, the Gaming Commission shut down two illegal casinos in Osu and Tema as part of compliance enforcement, while conducting 67 routine monitoring exercises, reviewed CCTV footage and verified eight inventories.
Mr Mohammed-Mubarak called for collective efforts to sustain peace, stressing: “Security is a shared responsibility.
Let us uphold harmony regardless of ethnicity, religion or status.”
