Outlaw Vigilante Groups--Tony Aidoo

Dr Tony Aidoo, Ghana's former Ambassador to the Netherlands in the Mahama-led administration, has admonished all political parties, including his own, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to disband all their vigilante groups.

He observed that the two main political parties, the NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), cannot keep vigilante groups in their fold since it does not foster discipline,

I think the discipline should start with disbanding the vigilante groups and should cut across political party lines," he stated.

According to Dr Aidoo, who served as a Senior Presidential Aide and Head of Policy Evaluation and Oversight Unit of the Office of the President from 2009 to 2013, "it is time vigilante groups of political parties are outlawed, the fact that one party has vigilante groups does not mean it should be a free-for-all.

"They are lawbreakers, I think they make the electorate, the general populace very unsafe, it doesn't matter which party you belong to, democracies are supposed to be very protective of life and property, I believe it is about time the government takes serious steps with disbandment of vigilante groups," Dr Aidoo cautioned.

Civil Society Groups (CSOs), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and other critics have strongly cautioned political parties against the use of vigilante groups, as they believe their existence defeats the practice of democracy in modern times. -classfmonline.com

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