Nana Addo instructs AG to prepare legislation against vigilantism
President Akufo-Addo says he has put the Attorney General, Gloria Akufo on standby to lay before Parliament legislation to disband all forms of political party vigilante groups in the country.
He said the Attorney General, as part of the legislation, is expected to provide the necessary sanctions against the occurrence of party vigilantism.
President Akufo-Addo made this known in a response to another open letter written to him by the Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofo following the President’s call on both the NDC and his New Patriotic Party (NPP) to dialogue and fashion out a way to deal with the situation earlier this year.
Akufo-Addo in the letter explained that he is obliged to issue legislation against the practice hence the decision, noting that, the move will not prejudice the expected dialogue between the NDC and the NPP on the matter.
“Since the constitutional responsibility of maintaining law and order in out country is that of the Executive, ie. the President of the Republic, I have in line with my pronouncement to Parliament during the Message of the State of the Nation on 21st February, 2019 instructed the Attorney General, without prejudice to the outcome of the engagement, in any, between the NPP and the 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 its 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,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin has clarified that the decision by the president to trigger the legislation against the phenomenon does not suggest that the president has given up hopes of an expected meeting between the NDC and NPP on the matter.
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Source: citinewsroom