Political Slaps…

It is becoming a trend, if it is not yet a norm that everything in Ghana is politicized including crimes.

Yesterday several news portals were washed with stories of the alleged assault of Nii Lante Vanderpuye the Odododiodoo Member of Parliament.

While the victim who saw and probably could identify his attackers is accusing some operatives of the National Security Secretariat of brutalising him, the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for constituency has a different story.

According to the former Sports Minister, two operatives accompanied by 10 others attacked him in front of the James Town Police station.

He said he had gone to the police station to secure bail for a journalist who had been arrested while working for him.

The legislator claims that upon his arrival at the Police station, 12 persons from the National Security some of whom had guns by their sides approached him and hit him in the chest.

Even before the police would commence any meaningful investigation into the matter, the NPP’s Parliamentary Candidate, Nii Lante Bannerman believes the boys who attacked Nii Lante Vanderpuye are former members of the opposition NDC who have scores to settle with the MP.

He is quoted as having stated that “From what I gather there are these boys who have converted from the NDC to the NPP. I have told them that if they have issues with him (the MP) they should find ways of settling it.”

“As an MP, he should also find ways of approaching these guys and settling whatever scores he has with them,” he said in an interview with JoyNews.

Interestingly, Mr Bannerman who was nowhere near the scene of the incident suddenly knows who was present at the place and who was not.

He said although he admits to knowing the boys, who were named as the perpetrators, he claims none of them is part of the national security.

“In fact, the only person there who is a national security operative, and has his named mentioned was not there,” he stated.

THE NEW PUBLISHER is not the least surprised by the turn of events because this posture has been our bane as a nation for some time now.

This is a nation where everything including the gruesome murder of a sitting Member of Parliament is politicized to score cheap political points.

It is our argument that as a nation we should be able to look at crime whichever form as what it is because crime has no political colours.

The paper dare say that once this issue has been politically colored, the culprits are most certain to go unpunished.

This is because the police would also not have the free hand to do its independent investigation into the matter as it ought to.

What makes the case very scary is that the incident reportedly happened at the James Town Police Station, bringing to question the quality of our security as a nation.

We urge duty bearers including politicians to spare us the over politicization of every issue especially ones that bother on their very existence.

So far as the law is concerned, there is certainly nothing like a political slap…