Welcome Closure

Two men have been jailed after being found guilty of assaulting teachers at the St. Joseph's Primary School at Accra Newtown.

Another suspect, we have learnt, is on the run but we do know that he can continue to run but cannot hide indefinitely. Sooner than later, he would be apprehended and tried.

We are pleased there has been a closure to an infamous action by hoodlums who have been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction.

The singular act which attracted negative headlines for the Zongos in the country was most appalling.

Thankfully, a group of concerned Zongo residents took up the matter and, according to information reaching DAILY GUIDE, tracked the suspects down and handed them over to the Police.

This is a good story worthy of emulation by others in our communities in general. It is very normal for residents to refuse to cooperate with the law enforcement agents when crimes are committed, information which such persons keep to themselves.

It is our position that were such support forthcoming from our communities to the law enforcement agents, a lot would have been achieved in the area of the apprehension of suspects.

It is for residents in areas where crimes are often committed to cooperate with the police with a view to instilling discipline.

It is inappropriate for people to harbour suspects when they know that such persons are wanted by the police or have committed crimes which they know about.

There are countless cases of robberies and rape, especially slums of our urban areas which have stalled because the suspects are being shielded by people within such areas.

The action of the concerned persons in Accra Newtown is something which should be amplified because really there has to be a paradigm shift in the way we do things in our residential areas.

The sanitization of our communities is a shared responsibility for parents and others.

Shirking this duty bestowed on us by virtue of our being citizens of this country and part of the communities in which we live can only breed criminals and open our children to the bad influence of hoodlums.

Let us point at suspects without fear or favour because not doing so would be supporting the criminalization of our communities and the repercussions would be far-reaching.

The St. Joseph School story is a sad one, given the age of the girl whose punishment by her class teacher led to the attack by her boyfriend and his associates.

For a girl in a primary school to have a boyfriend points at the extent of the moral decadence in our society.

We call on parents to be mindful about the movements of their children and who their friends are.

Those who do not show such interest are not living up to expectation, and must be shamed if that would make them change their ways.

This way, their children would be saved from becoming liabilities to their parents and society at large.