The Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, ASP Afia Tenge, has disclosed she was nearly lynched by a mob, and, thus, strongly condemns the prevalence of instant justice in the country.
Narrating her ordeal on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class91.3FM on Friday, 2 June, Ms Tenge cautioned society against the act.
She told show host Moro Awudu: “Mob action is something we have continuously asked people to refrain from because of its consequences. I, personally, almost became a victim of that. And even if we are able to get one or two persons among the mob to stand on their ground to prevent the person from being beaten or being abused in the manner it is done, it will help us.”
She recounted: “In my case, it happened in Tamale. Luckily for me, I had one person who just quickly ran after us and said: ‘Madam, these people are following you because of the type of dress you are wearing. The man quickly stopped a taxi, pushed me inside and told the taxi driver in their local dialect to quickly speed off and quickly that was how I was able to escape death. …We [Police] had gone on training, we had arrived late in the evening, so, I just took something and wore and hit the street just to get something to eat and before I could realise, a whole mob was amassing clubs and whatever to come and lynch me because I had worn something that was abominable on their land. So, if it had not taken that man to know what they were doing and quickly come to my rescue, it would have been a different story.”
ASP Tenge reminded Ghanaians that it was unconstitutional to become a law unto themselves and prescribe justice to suspected criminals in a democracy.
“Why do people think that they have the right to prescribe or dispatch punishment? Even we (police officers) can’t prescribe punishment; it’s not our duty to do so. Judicial powers do not lie in our hands, and, therefore, if we arrest anybody on the basis of suspicion of having committed a crime, we process the person to the law court and that is procedural. That is the criminal justice system.”
The debate on mob justice has strongly been revived following the death of an Army Captain in Denkyira-Obuasi on Monday, 29 May 2017.
Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama was lynched by a group of irate youth who mistook him for an armed robber after a group of people he asked directions from spotted a pistol on him. As of the time of the incident, the soldier was not in uniform.
Source: Classfmonline
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Well said ASP, mob justice is wrong and all of us must stand against it but this will only happen when the low standards set by the Ghana Police Service is improved. I'm glad you said even the Police does not have the right to prescribe punishment but ASP ask yourself if that is actually what happens on the ground. Police officers take the laws into their own hands all the time and for the lack of a better word let me use misbehave on our streets every blessed day. There is a simple solution to all this misconduct in Ghana. Our LAWS must work from the TOP!
If e police arrest criminals and send them to court for persecution the judges would either free them with lack of evidence or give them bail with some flimsy excuse, which ends there, even though what was melted out to the captain is not good the cause is because of the incompetence of our judges
DAN, it all started after the firing squad of our senior military officers by junior officers during the June 4th 1979 COUP(not a revolution). Men and women were flogged publicly for owning wealth. The poor were turned against the rich/affluent. After the military took over under JJ in that June 4th 1979 COUP, soldiers became the law(instance justice) and lesser extent civilians linked to the then government. We should know our history a bit to inform our current circumstances. The culture of instance justice had been with us since. It will really take sustained education in our schools, mosques, churches, the media and especially the speedy delivery of justice by the judicial system to get rid of this problem. It's a long road but we could make journey.
When did this mob action become to intense? After P(NDC) in 1979. Let us condemn the action NOT because it happened to someone connected to power. EVIL is EVIL. Those who killed him are wicked and must be punished by law.
Well couple of years ago a mob lynched the DCE in Goaso because apparently he was transporting a copse to the village for burial.
OVER THE PAST DECADES, THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT, POOR AND DOWNTRODDEN GHANAIANS BOTH MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAD BEEN LYNCHED THROUGH "INSTANT JUSTICE". YET, THESE INCIDENCES WERE NOT REPORTED IN THE MEDIA OR TREATED AS HIGH PROFILE CASE. WHY? ARE THEY NOT HUMAN BEINGS OR GHANAIANS? IS IT BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, PARTY EXECUTIVES ETC.? IS GHANA JUSTICE SYSTEM WORKING? DO WE HAVE SELECTIVE LAWS FOR THE POOR AND AFFLUENT IN OUR SOCIETY? DON'T WE THINK THESE DOWNTRODDEN GHANAIANS ALSO DESERVE TO BE TREATED EQUALLY, AND EVEN NAME KUMASI CITY AIRPORT AFTER A WOMAN WHO WAS GHASTLY LYNCHED AND MURDERED THROUGH "INSTANT JUSTICE FEW YEARS AGO?
SIAAAA, SIAAAAA, SIAA, SIA, like u go see
She is telling us what she passed tru and even if it was Accra, kumasi takoradi or any of the regions stil she would have mentioned so dont misinterprete wat she is saying but if u think northners are violent then is ur own mindset dont try to misjudge her and read well next time before u comment
Siaka- you said it all. cant just understand why people cant comprehend simple issues-look at the angle from which he has taken it from???? Unimaginable
Please "Hmmm" does what you done by posting what you said say it all, you are the people who make people to speak against us from the the North, don't you know some dressings are not accepted in some places in Tamale. let accommodate it other build Ghana and stop these issues. Thanks