Peace Council, NDC, NPP to release roadmap on ending vigilantism within four weeks

The National Peace Council says the two main political parties — the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) — have agreed to allow the council to come out with a roadmap to help stop the activities of political vigilante groups in the country.

The two parties are supposed to make input into the roadmap.

This decision was arrived at during a two-day stakeholder dialogue on the elimination of political vigilantism facilitated by the council which provided an expert overview of the nature, scope and dangers of political vigilantism as well as a much-needed forum for the stakeholders to present their perspectives on vigilantism and articulate the challenges they face in their attempt to contend with the phenomenon.

The council in a statement said, at the end of the dialogue, both the NPP and NDC Party agreed that:

1. The National Peace Council with the support of technical experts and with input from the two political parties, will present a working document on a roadmap for the consideration of the parties, taking into account the reports submitted by various stakeholders at the just ended dialogue on the eradication of political vigilantism. This will be done within a period of four (4) weeks.
2.  The draft Code of Conduct designed by the National Peace Council will be considered as one of the deliverable in the preparation of the roadmap.

The Peace Council is currently spearheading the mediation process between the two factions to table a number of proposals and modalities for disbanding vigilante groups.

After initial hitches between the two, the council met for the second phase of its sittings last Monday and Tuesday after the initial meeting in April.

President Nana Akufo-Addo during his 2019 State of the Nation Address called on the leadership of the two leading political parties to meet towards finding a lasting solution to political vigilantism.

It followed the tensions during the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election where the government was accused of engaging in state-sponsored political violence.

Those tensions led to the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry to probe the violence that marred the by-election.

Before the Ayawaso West Wuogon incident, the last two years had been littered by acts of violence by vigilante groups.

Meanwhile, a legislation which has been prepared by the Attorney General upon instruction of the President has also been laid in parliament for consideration.