Political vigilantism: There will be an explosion in 2020 if... - Kofi Boakye

Director-General of the Police Professional Standards Bureau has warned that the country is sitting on a time bomb if political vigilantism is not stopped immediately.

COP Nathan Kofi Boakye cautioned there will be an explosion in 2020 when the country goes to polls to elect MPs as well as a new president if nothing is done about the situation.

He said this when delivering what can be described as a bare it all speech on political vigilantism and Ghana's democracy at the ongoing New Year School and Conference at the University of Ghana in Accra, Wednesday.

“As at yesterday, there was the formation of Eastern Bambas and because of the entrepreneurship related to vigilantism, in 2020 you will hear of [groups with different funny names] and these groups have not loyalty to any of the parties.

“I know some of them personally and they are not up to any good,” COP Kofi Boakye said.

The former Ashanti Regional Commander said he finds it bemusing when people question what the police’s response to vigilantism is.

“When it comes to political thuggery, if it is against another party the solution is clear but what we are seeing now is within the parties and this is where the problem lies,” he said.

According to him, the police are not told the truth because people within political parties do not want to wash their dirty linen in public. This, he said makes their work difficult since in most cases there is not much to go on.   

“Vigilantism is something which is a clear and present threat to our democracy and it is escalating…if we don’t sit up 2020 and beyond will be something explosive that we will not be able to contain.

“Government is giving us the necessary equipment but even if you get all these equipment and you arrest people, they just slap people at the bottom and tell them to go and sin no more, it will continue,” he lamented.  

COP Kofi Boakye also expressed disappointment at the political tags placed on men and women in uniform just to protect their own, a trend he described as worrying saying it can cause division within the rank and file of the service.

 

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