Political Vigilantism: Nana Addo begins legislation process

President Akufo-Addo has once again responded to Samuel Ofosu Ampofo’s latest letter tasking the Attorney General to prepare a legislation against vigilantism in Ghana.

The President made the announcement in his reaction to the second letter from the NDC chairman Samuel Ofosu Ampofo over the party’s reservation to the approach in dealing with the menace as suggested by the President.

In the response, President Akufo-Addo wrote: “I have, in line with my pronouncement to Parliament during the Message on the State of the Nation on 21st February, 2019 instructed the Attorney General, without prejudice to the outcome of the engagement, if any, between the NPP and NDC, to prepare and submit to Parliament, as soon as possible, specific legislation to deal with the phenomenon of vigilantism, and provide appropriate sanctions against its occurrence.”

“I believe that the parliamentary process of enactment affords sufficient space for any citizen to make an input or contribution to the enactment of a good and effective law, whose implementation will enable us rid our nation of politically-related violence, a development that an only inure to the benefit of Ghanaian democracy and to the preservation of law and order,” President Akufo-Addo added.

The President had earlier directed the NDC and NPP to deal with the menace during his state of the nation address and also stressed that he would begin legislation to handle the problem if the parties failed to do so.

Since asking the two parties to engage each other to stem the tide of political vigilantism, there has been a back-and-forth as to how that engagement will take place.