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Advocacy group, Community Focus Foundation Ghana (CFF-Ghana) is pushing for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to embark on youth led peace initiatives to help address political vigilantism in the country.
This forms part of a proactive advocacy being championed by CFF-Ghana to avoid violence in the next general elections and also ensure the youth channel their energy into productive ventures that will rather help nation building.
Over the years, it has been proven that the causes of political vigilantism in Ghana are multifaceted and not far-fetched.
They include but not limited to lack of youths active participation in the democratic process, youth unemployment, ‘winner-takes it all syndrome’, poor governance, exclusionary politics, the socio-economic uncertainties of losing political power among others.
Although President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo criminalized political vigilante groups in September 2019 when he signed the Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill into law, political parties still operate these dreaded groups under the cover of darkness. In Ghana, despite the existence of this law, the 2020 electioneering period recorded the highest number of brutalities with the bloodiest killings in the history of Ghana’s democratic journey.
Insisting that the nature of operation and complexity of vigilantism in Ghana requires a new thinking and approach, CFF-Ghana has through a statement stressed that there is the need for CSO to work together.
“It is for the above reasons why Community Focus Foundation Ghana (CFF-Ghana) is advocating for well-coordinated CSOs actions including implementing youth led peace initiatives to mitigate the debilitating effects of political vigilantism in Ghana and beyond,” a release from the public committee of the advocacy group has said.
Read the full release from CFF-Ghana below:
Article: Ending dreaded political vigilantism in Ghana; the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
Globally, political violence is considered an intolerable violation of citizens’ rights to freely participate in democratic processes of their respective countries which by far undermines democratic values and principles with its debilitating effects on human security.
In fact, the re-introduction of multiparty democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa in the early 1990s, electoral competition for state power has become the norm. While the frequency of elections and the advancements in the quality of democracy across the continent has generated a sense
of optimism for multiparty politics, this development has been closely accompanied by another, much more worrying trend, of violent conflicts predominantly fueled by unconstitutional political transitions, and electoral disputes among others in a Region considered as volatile with its dark and troubling history of political upheavals.
According to (Kwarkye, 2011), about 800 people were killed in post-election violence across northern cities in Nigeria. In 2015, about 100 deaths were also recorded in Nigeria as a result of electoral violence. In Benin, in May 2019, the elections also turned violent as opposition parties protested against new electoral laws that made it difficult for them to contest in the elections. Togo has not been left out. It has also been experiencing political unrest since 2017 over term-limit disputes resulting in the deaths of innocent citizens.
In fact, the electoral related violence in West Africa in recent years, especially in Mali, Burkina-Faso, and Togo lay credence to heightened insecurity in the region thereby derailing gains made thus far in the democratic consolidation by various stakeholders.
Though Ghana is considered as the citadel of democracy and good governance in the sub-region, her relatively stable democratic trajectory is not devoid of violence. Political vigilantism is gradually eating its layer which has indeed becoming a threat to its thriving democracy. In Ghana today, political parties whether in government or in opposition form and use vigilante groups who then act on their behalf to perpetrate mayhem on persons or groups considered as opponents. These vigilantes engage in riots, violent protests and property destruction; they are known to target elections, intimidating voters or mounting roadblocks to prevent people they termed “outsiders” from voting as part of a well-calculated scheme to disfranchise people they consider opponents to their advantage. They (vigilantes) have also been known to harass, threaten, assault, and even assassinate opponents. The danger posed by these dreaded groups cannot be underestimated.
For example, in 2019, during the parliamentary by-election in Ayawaso West Wuogon (AWW) constituency in Accra, violence occurred and it was attributed to the presence of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) political vigilante groups in the polling centres. The escalated level of brutalities in some parts of Ghana during the 2020 new voter registration exercise and the brutal killing of five (5) innocent Ghanaians during the 2020 general elections cast a shadow of doubt over a country highly hailed for its stable democracy.
The causes of political vigilantism in Ghana are multifaceted and not far-fetched. They include but not limited to lack of youths active participation in the democratic process, youth unemployment, ‘winner-takes it all syndrome’, poor governance, exclusionary politics, the socio-economic uncertainties of losing political power among others.
In recognition of the active role of youth to building a more resilient and inclusive societies for sustainable peace, the United Nations Security Council adopted the ground-breaking resolution 2250 to foster youth participation in peace processes. In the same vein, ECOWAS integrated a youth dimension in its 2019 Plan of Action (PoA) to ensure effective implementation of its Conflict Prevention Framework while the African Union also developed a continental framework to provide guidance on the implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda.
The question is has Ghana truly committed herself to the above resolutions?
Though, the President of the Republic of Ghana criminalized political vigilante groups in September 2019 when he signed the Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill into law, political parties still operate these dreaded groups under the cover of darkness. In Ghana, despite the existence of this law, the 2020 electioneering period recorded the highest number of brutalities with the bloodiest killings in the history of Ghana’s democratic journey. In practice, there is no political will to apply the law fully to deter perpetrators of political violence. There is limited citizens’ knowledge on the law and lack of citizens especially youth participation in conflict prevention defeating the realization of its goals and expected objectives.
The nature of operation and complexity of vigilantism in Ghana requires a new thinking and approach to its prevention for a peaceful Ghana, West Africa, Africa and the World.
It is for the above reasons why Community Focus Foundation Ghana (CFF-Ghana) is advocating for well-coordinated CSOs actions including implementing youth led peace initiatives to mitigate the debilitating effects of political vigilantism in Ghana and beyond.
Let the democratic values of our forebears which birthed the 4th Republic be upheld…
Long live global peace!
Long Live CFF-Ghana!
Authored by: CFF-Ghana’s Publicity Committee
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