Stop mob justice - Public advised

Accra, May 30, GNA - The Ministries of the Interior and National Security are poised to adopt effective measures to find a lasting solution to the menace of mob justice, Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Deputy Minister for the Interior, said on Wednesday.

"Mob actions have never solved any problem since the creation of the world. We do not use illegalities to solve illegalities," Mr Agyemang-Manu said at a day's consultative forum on: Instant Mob Justice and National Security.

"The path of true justice may be frustrating and time consuming but its results are more convenient than any other form of settling dispute," he said.

"Mob justice presents a serious challenge for our democratic society," he added and expressed worry about the growing act of lawlessness and gross injustices in Ghana.

"It is reported for example that between January and December 2006, as many as 13 persons lost their lives through mob attacks within the Kumasi metropolis and its environs," Mr Agyemang-Manu said. He added that the ministry would not condone the perpetration of any acts of mob justice in whatever form and was taking measures to nip the practice in the bud with co-operation from stakeholders. He announced that the law enforcement agencies had been tasked to follow through all incidents of mob actions to bring culprits to justice.

Mr Francis Poku, Minister for National Security, said government and the security agencies were also concerned about the spate of the menace.

"It is good to reduce crime but people must not take the law into their own hands," he said, while commending the various human rights groups for their stand on the menace.

Mr Poku said he appreciated why a cross-section of the public became enraged at criminals and frustrations about the slow manner in which the law worked.

However, he said, it was still necessary for people to respect the law as the only way to promote peace and stability, reminding Ghanaians; "we together opted to go by the rule of law". The security boss explained that the meeting was not meant to protect criminals but to work out a balancing kind of response to crime. "There is no need for the public to resort to self- help mechanism," Mr Poku stressed.

Dr Kofi Kesse Manfo, Deputy Inspector General of Police (IGP) in-charge of Operations, announced that community forums, community policing units and talk shows in the media were some activities that the police service was coming out with to educate the public on mob justice. "Report any (police) personnel who goes beyond the mandate and maltreats any member of the public and the personnel would be dealt with appropriately," he said.

Dr Manfo called on the Christian, Muslim and the traditional councils to join hands in the campaign against mob justices. He expressed the hope that the public would collaborate with the police to stop the menace.

Professor Ken Attafuah, a resource person who spoke on the topic: "The Challenges of Instant Mob Justice and National Security" suggested the establishment of volunteer neighbourhood citizens board to serve as a watch in various communities.

He noted that communities that were integrated witnessed less robbery and crime than those that were not.

Mrs. Georgina Wood, nominated Chief Justice, who chaired the forum, said mob justice was an indictment on the society as a whole and urged participants to attack the problem head-on.