This Stone Age Conduct Must Cease!

It is gradually becoming a convention for supporters of suspects arrested by the police to either throng the courts or the police stations to sympathize with them (suspects). It started with Former President Rawlings when he was invited by the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) to testify. For reasons known to himself, Mr Rawlings decided to walk from his residence at Ridge to the Old Parliament House, on the now Atta Mills High Street, where the commission was sitting.

That decision created heavy vehicular traffic in Accra, because thousands of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters decided to follow him, amidst drumming and dancing.

After creating that long winding traffic in Accra, when the former president finally arrived at the Old Parliament House, it took the Justice Amuah-Sakyi led commission less than five minutes to finish questioning Mr. Rawlings.

When his wife, Nana Konadu was also charged before court, thousands of NDC sympathizers thronged the court anytime she appeared. The trend continued until President Kufuor instructed that the case be struck out. The case of Messrs Kwame Peprah, Dan Abodapi, Sipa Yankey followed the same trajectory.

When the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost power to NDC, their followers, including MPs, went to the BNI national headquarters and created mayhem, when Mr. Kojo Mpiani, a Former Chief of Staff was arrested by the security agency.

Similarly, when Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central was arrested by the CID, NPP supporters again massed up at the premises of the state security agency, demanding that their idol be released.

We cannot also gloss over what happened at the Supreme Court premises recently, when the Montie 3 were being tried for contempt of court.

Large crowds, mostly NDC supporters, thronged the venue and were making noise to the displeasure of the Supreme Court judges.

And just yesterday, supporters of Bishop Daniel Obinim, followed the footsteps of the politicians by massing up at the CID headquarters, demanding that he (Obinim) should be released to go home.

Clearly, this is a worrisome development that is gradually finding roots in our democratic process. Ghana is governed by laws and if someone falls foul to the law, it is the duty of the law enforcement agencies to deal with him or her.

If the person who has been arrested is being treated unfairly, his or her lawyers have the right to use the legal process to seek redress.  The state has lost so many cases in court, as a result of the way suspects were handled by either the police or the BNI.

In all the cases we have mentioned, the people were not set free because of the crowd that massed up at the courts or the police headquarters.

Some of them gained their freedom because their lawyers mounted a strong defence to the charges that were brought against them. When the Montie 3 case was being heard, one of the Supreme Court Judges made it clear that the noise their supporters were making outside would not have any influence on them.

Indeed, the three contemnors were sentenced to four months imprisonment, despite all that their supporters came to do in court.

In the case of Bishop Obinim, The Chronicle does not have any evidence that he had defrauded a fellow Ghanaian, resulting in his arrest, but it is not the noise his church members went to make at the CID headquarters yesterday that would compel the police to set him free, if he had indeed defrauded the complainant.

If he is guilty, the law would deal with him without any influence from his church members. If he is also not guilty, the same law would free him.

The Chronicle does not have a problem with one or three people who accompany their idols to either the court or the police station, as that is normal and part of our culture.

We are only against the situation where people mass up in their large numbers at the courts and police stations to violently protest against a person who has been arrested or dragged to court.  Whilst advising to the public over this dangerous development, we equally call on the security agencies to treat suspects with utmost respect.

It is trite knowledge that those who wield power sometimes use some of these security agencies to teach their opponents 'a lesson.' Under such a circumstance, one cannot blame those who throng the courts and the police stations. We must always allow the laws to work without any external manipulations.