By William
Yaw Owusu
Monday, November
13, 2017
Two Ghanaian professors have kicked against an attempt
by parliament to pass a bill in the name of Major Maxwell Mahama, the army
officer who was brutally murdered at Denkyira-Obuasi (now New Obuasi), in the
Central Region in May this year.
According to them, it will be prudent for the
government to widen the scope of the bill for the benefit of all security
personnel who died or were maimed in line of duty, and pointed out that the
bill in its current form, discriminates against all other personnel who had suffered
a similar fate.
In an article entitled, “The Major Mahama Trust Fund
Bill is a Good Idea Gone Bad: Replace it with a General Law on Security
Personnel Survivors’ Benefits,” Professors Stephen Kwaku Asare and Edward Ansah
Akuffo, who are based in United States and Canada respectively, claimed, “The
Major Mahama Bill flouts the principles of generality and non-discrimination
and cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny.”
They maintained, “The recent gruesome murder of
Major Mahama at Denkyira-Obuasi is an example of a security personnel paying
the ultimate price while on duty,” and added, “The overwhelming public
condemnation of the abominable act against the fine military officer and the
public show of affection for his family demonstrate not only our rejection of
mob justice, but also our appreciation for and commitment to those who
safeguard our peace.
“Major Mahama lived to make a difference. He died
protecting the environment from the ravages of galamseyers.”
Professors Kwaku Asare and Ansah Akuffo also said
the deceased soldier’s posthumous promotion from the rank of Captain to Major
“demonstrates leadership and responsible government in a democratic
environment.”
In spite of the commendation, they insisted that the
bill in its current form is targeting Major Mahama “and appears to ignore other
security personnel we have lost in the past. It is a cardinal principle of the
rule of law that laws must apply to broad categories of people and must not
single out individuals or groups for special treatment.”
The professors listed other security personnel who
were killed or maimed while serving the country and said they (personnel) equally
deserve similar special treatment being given to Major Mahama.
In a letter which was directly an appeal to
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Professors Kwaku Asare and Ansah Akuffo stated,
“It is a tough call but my advice is that you should not give assent to the
Major Mahama Trust Fund Bill. Rather, you should return it to parliament for it
to be replaced by a comprehensive Bill that provides timely, predictable and
easy-to-access benefits to the families of ALL SECURITY PERSONNEL who pay the
ultimate price while serving the nation.”
They said, “The power of parliament to isolate
people for rewards, punishment or different treatment is dangerous and must not
be countenanced in this Republic. We must not traverse that path.
“Even though the Bill is well intentioned, it sets a
very bad precedent; it treats equally situated persons differently; it creates
bitterness for families in similar situations who are hardly recognized; and it
affects the collective morale of service personnel,” they noted.
Professors Kwaku Asare and Ansah Akuffo underscored,
“The Major Mahama Bill is problematic at several levels. First, it targets only
the departed officer and his immediate family and ignores the other security
personnel we have lost in the past. Second, the initiation and passage of the
bill flout the principles of universalism and non-discrimination.
“Mr. President, seize this opportunity to reiterate
your commitment to the rule of law, which requires that our laws conform to the
generality principle and are not discriminatory.”
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