Akufo-Addo orders AG to start anti-militia legislation

President Nana Akufo-Addo has ordered his Attorney General Ms Gloria Akuffo to draft specific legislation to be sent to parliament for dealing with party militarism.

In his second response to a second letter written to him by the national chairman of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, concerning the proposal he made during his third state of the nation address that the two main parties – NDC and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) – meet to fashion out a way of disbanding militia groups affiliated to them, Nana Akufo-Addo said: “Firstly, I note that you have, quite properly, given a copy of it [second letter] to the Chairperson of the New Patriotic Party, Mr Freddie Blay. I have asked him to respond to its content, since he is the rightful person to speak directly for the New Patriotic Party, and I expect that he will do so promptly”.

“Secondly”, the president said, “since the constitutional responsibility of maintaining law and order in our country is that of the Executive, i.e. the president of the Republic, I have, in line with my pronouncement to parliament during the message of the state of the nation on 21 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 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 can only inure to the benefit of Ghanaian democracy and to the preservation of law and order.

“Once again I thank you for the expression of your commitment to ending the vigilante phenomenon in Ghana”.