The demand for the services of vigilante groups by political parties is the root cause of political violence and vigilantism and must be eliminated to stem the tide, a former Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has stated.
He stressed that cutting off the demand for the services of such groups would make their activities less lucrative and help prevent the menace from festering.
“We have vigilantes who are distributors, causing harm everywhere. But the real issue is the people who demand vigilante services,” he added.
Mr Kan-Dapaah made those observations during a panel discussion at the National Policy Dialogue on the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999), held at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) recently.
The dialogue was on the theme: "Addressing the Implementation of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999) and its Implications for National Security and Democratic Governance".
Act 999 implementation
Sharing his perspective on the implementation of Act 999, the former minister stressed that the law was difficult to enforce because political parties continued to rely on informal security groups.
Mr Kan-Dapaah added that every possible step must be taken, as a matter of urgency, to end the practice of political parties engaging vigilante groups under the guise of providing internal security.
“We must stop them from demanding vigilante services, and there will be no need for you to come up with any law forever,” he said.
He said vigilante activities persisted despite their criminalisation by Act 999 because security agencies and policymakers failed to confront the core political drivers of the phenomenon.
The former minister added that some of the issues relating to vigilantism had direct bearing on national security and needed to be dealt with holistically, particularly so when terrorist activities were taking root in neighbouring countries.
Concerns
He said there was a growing consensus among national security practitioners that political party activities and electoral competition had created a chain of supply and demand for vigilante groups.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said addressing the menace of vigilantism decisively would require targeting those at the top of the chain, including individuals who hired, funded and protected vigilante networks.
The former minister observed that the heightened threat of insecurity emanating from terrorist activities in the West African sub-region was a signal that if vigilantism was not properly tackled, it could expose the country to dire security implications.
He stressed that unaddressed political violence and militarised party youth wings created a fertile ground for extremist infiltration and domestic destabilisation, and must be nipped in the bud.
The Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999) was passed on August 23, 2019, disbanding political party vigilante groups and land guards, banning related violence and intimidation, and prohibiting people convicted of those acts from holding public or political office.
Act 999 was enacted against the backdrop of growing challenges of lawlessness and the rise of unauthorised security groups in various communities, mostly pursuing political ends.
Often referred to as vigilante groups, these self-appointed enforcers purported to supplement state security efforts but frequently operated outside the bounds of the law, sometimes engaging in acts of violence, intimidation and abuse of power.
Act 999 ultimately sought to control and curb the activities of such groups, ensuring that law enforcement remained within legal and constitutional frameworks.
The Act prohibits any individual or group from assuming police or security roles without lawful authorisation and also criminalises the formation, operation, or participation in vigilante groups.
For groups established with lawful authority such as neighbourhood watch committees, the Act provides guidelines for registration and supervision to ensure accountability and compliance with established security protocols.
