Dr. Benjamin Bewa-Nyog Kunbour, a former Attorney-General, Defence Minister, and Interior Minister in Ghana, has issued a forceful call for a fundamental overhaul of the country’s anti-vigilantism strategy, arguing that the existing legislation, particularly the 2019 Act, 999, is riddled with contradictions that significantly undermine its implementation. Speaking during the second panel at the National Policy Dialogue organized by Election Watch Ghana at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Dr. Kunbour emphasized the urgent need for a comprehensive review, highlighting flaws in the law’s legislative process, overlapping security mandates, and an overreliance on conventional policing methods.
He stated that the challenges surrounding the enforcement of Act 999 stem partly from inconsistencies within the legislation itself, making effective implementation exceedingly difficult. He pointed out that the Act’s initial provisions contained contradictions, creating an unstable legal framework for enforcement. ‘Act 999 was passed as if it were a legal vacuum,’ he asserted, ‘and this inherent contradiction has hampered its effectiveness from the outset.’
Dr. Kunbour underscored the importance of examining the legislative history of the Act, including the Parliamentary Hansard and committee reports, to understand the circumstances surrounding its passage. He stressed the need for a meticulous analysis of the legislative process, acknowledging that the process was not adequately structured during its initial creation. He also noted that the existing security command structure, characterized by overlapping portfolios, created uncertainty regarding operational control. ‘The law-making process starts at the executive arm of government, but no clear explanations were provided regarding command architecture,’ he explained. ‘The law-making process at the time, the setup at the time, was a chaotic mix of roles – Minister for National Security, Minister of Security in the Office of the President, National Security Adviser to the President, and a National Security Coordinator – who ultimately held the power?’
He further attributed some of the difficulties to a lack of a clear security command structure during the legislation’s development. He detailed how the existence of multiple overlapping security portfolios contributed to a lack of clarity regarding accountability and responsibility.
Dr. Kunbour cautioned against the belief that legislation alone could resolve complex political and social problems such as vigilantism. ‘Remand is not even a half-solution to a structural problem,’ he stated. ‘Lawyers and lawmakers often fall into the trap of thinking that passing a new statute solves every societal ill. Not every legal regime can address complex political phenomena.’
He advocated for a streamlined security architecture with clearly defined lines of responsibility and accountability. ‘Today we complain about the challenges of enforcing Act 999, but those failures were baked into the process from the very day the bill was drafted,’ he added. He called for a long-term strategy focused on addressing both the economic factors driving young people into vigilante groups and the underlying political structures that fuel their demands for protection. ‘Vigilantism is not only about criminal activity; it is driven by bad governance, and that bad governance originates directly within political parties,’ he emphasized. ‘We must build a long-term strategy that systematically cuts off the supply chain, the socio-economic factors driving young people into these groups, while clamping down on the political demand side,’ he stated.
Dr. Kunbour suggested that the banning or public identification of vigilante groups, as a means of dismantling political violence, should not be considered a complete solution.
He argued that the groups operating publicly were merely the visible part of a wider network. ‘Every seasoned security analyst knows that any vigilante name mentioned out in public is merely the surface group operating,’ he said. ‘Underneath those public names lie deep-seated, covert networks. If you only target the public name, the underground structure remains intact.’
He urged a review of Act 999, stressing that statutory bans alone would remain ineffective without meaningful internal reforms within political parties. ‘Political party leadership must address governance failures that create demand for informal armed groups and strengthen internal mechanisms for managing political competition without resorting to violence,’ he concluded. ‘Vigilantism is not only about criminal activity; it is driven by bad governance, and that bad governance originates directly within political parties,’ he said.
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Source: Adom Online
