Wednesday, May 27, 2015

OCCUPYGHANA CONDEMNS NPP CHAIRMAN’S MURDER

By William Yaw Owusu
Wednesday, May 27, 2015

OccupyGhana (OG), a fast-growing pressure group has condemned the killing of Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Alhaji Adams Mahama and has added its voice to the numerous calls to fish out the killers and punish them.

On Wednesday, May 20, Ghanaians were hit with the shocking news of the pouring of acid on the dynamic NPP regional chairman in Bolgatanga leading to his death a few hours later on Thursday.

Two people who are suspected to have been involved in the pouring of the acid have been identified and one is currently detained by the police.

Countless institutions and powerful individuals as well as security experts have all condemned the ‘dastardly act’ and asked the law enforcement agencies to conduct thorough investigations and bring the perpetrators to book without fear or favour.

OccupyGhana said in a statement yesterday that “no person deserves to die in the manner Mr. Adams Mahama did and no person has the right to take another's life in the circumstances Mr. Adams Mahama's life was taken.”

“For the rest of us, the death of Mr. Adams Mahama if indeed truly occurred because of political instigation, should not be seen as just another ‘partisan’ occurrence but rather a signal that our politics is at the cusp of a trajectory of self-destruction. It is a criminal act that should be abhorred without reservation.”

Fault lines
According to the pressure group the origin of the fault line of physical violence in Ghana's politics, could be traced to British colonialist policies and practices, under which those who demanded independence were hounded, imprisoned and sometimes, killed.”

“Unfortunately, with the advent of independence a more vicious form of political violence was to be introduced: the phenomenon of ‘machoism,’ feeding on the unfortunate mentality that the only way to handle political differences is to visit physical violence on one's opponents.”

“It is unfortunate that nearly six decades after independence, we are yet to fully rid our politics of machoism. Political parties have nurtured and fed this 'beast' and given it room to transmogrify and mutate into a clear and present national danger, the latest form of which is the unjustified attack that has resulted in the assassination of Mr. Adams Mahama.”

Indiscipline and machoism
They said indiscipline and machoism has increasingly taken “the spearhead of political activism in the country” adding “our airwaves and newspapers are replete with vitriolic language and unacceptably unpalatable reportage.”

“People in office who are paid by tax payers money find nothing wrong with engaging in mudslinging and very often rather insulting diatribes,” they added.

The group said the situation had affected social cohesion and reinforced what it called “the fast increasing view that public office is being reduced to the preserve of incivilities; all in the name of what may seem as irrational partisan endorsements.”

“Occupy Ghana is fully convinced that our political parties, their members and followers have no justification nor is there the need to continue along a path of violence.”

Volunteer information
Occupy Ghana called on all persons who may have any knowledge of the circumstances surrounding and leading to the killing, to step forward and pass on any such information to the appropriate authorities.

“In urging calm, we also wish to express our firm belief and conviction that the Ghana Police Service is doing everything possible to bring the perpetrators of that dastardly act to justice, to vindicate the nation and get justice for Mr. Adams Mahama. We support the relevant authorities in their quest to identify all persons who are complicit in this crime and to bring them to book.”

Call to order
Occupy Ghana asked the leadership, members and supporters of all political parties, to work hard to eliminate and eschew all forms of violence and indiscipline in their intra- and inter-party engagements.

“Politics is nothing more than a contest of ideas and tolerance of divergent views in spite of vigorous contests for control and leadership at various levels,” they said adding,” Occupy Ghana commits to engaging with and working with the leadership of all political parties and groupings to develop and sustain workable programs aimed at stamping out violence in the activities of all such groups.”




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