Attafuah calls on Ghanaians to join fight against mob justice
A Criminologist, Professor Kenneth Attafuah, has urged Ghanaians to join the fight against mob justice. He said the phenomenon was as a result of the “sustained lack of confidence in the criminal justice system”.
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He was also of the view that the Ghanaian had a penchant for brutality and lawlessness and that, combined with the lack of confidence in institutions, they resorted to mob action or instant justice.
“Brutal and the excessively punitive ethos and love for lawlessness lie at the root of the horrible tragedy that ended Captain Maxwell Mahama’s life,” he said.
Advocacy
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, Prof. Attafuah, who is currently the acting Chief Executive of the National Identification Authority (NIA), made an impassioned plea to pastors, priests, clerics, traditional authorities and chiefs to all join in the campaign to sensitise one another to the injustice of lynching.
He also urged state institutions to live up to their mandate for Ghanaians to have confidence in their processes.
Institutions
In his view, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) had to “wake up to their duty to expand the scale of respect for human dignity and rights and for the rule of law”.
He also called for veritable leaders in society to shape and instil values for a great nation.
Context
Prof. Attafuah’s tweets and radio interviews in the aftermath of the murder of the Army officer have sparked conversation on social media on lawlessness, mob action and the seeming inaction of state institutions such as the courts and the Police Service.
He has authored a book, “Armed Robbery in Ghana,” and was nearly a victim of mob justice.
In the book, he called for values, such as the proper upbringing of children, to curb armed robbery and other vices in society.
Last Monday, Captain Maxwell Mahama was jogging at Denkyira-Obuasi in Upper Denkyira West, when he was attacked by a mob because they suspected he was an armed robber.
Captain Mahama was lynched and his body burnt by the perpetrators of the mob justice.
The deceased was in the community on military duties.