Impunity Again

Braimah Kamoko aka Bukom Banku is said to have breached the law again. Even before the details were let out, those who heard the headline could bet it had to do with assault. They were not wrong. The man assaulted a lady who resisted his attempt at kissing her.

In an area where such resistance calls for a physical attack from him, we wonder whether the Police have given up on him.

We are pained to revisit the impunity this man has consistently put up over the years. He said there is no reason he would be jailed for such misconduct. He is a leading supporter of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and we think his possession of the membership card is enough to secure freedom for him; which is true.

We pray that for once the suspect is investigated thoroughly so that when it is established that he breached the law, the appropriate sanctions are applied.

He has other cases, all of which relate to assaults. Nothing came out of them because orders came from outside the political establishment that he be released.

His appearance before a court could not be possible because the law enforcement agents who were charged with the task of facilitating it were stopped from proceeding with the case beyond the station diary.  This, without doubt, has emboldened the miscreant to continue to unleash his imbecility on innocent ladies.

Until we pull the brakes on such impunity, we would not make the necessary progress as a nation. We are rendering our institutions impotent when we encourage persons like Bukom Banku to think that being a supporter of a ruling party is enough to make you breach the law with impunity as he has done over the years with nothing happening to him by way of time in jail or even monetary fines.

When COP George Akuffo Dampare was the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Bukom Banku assaulted some ladies, a story which made the headlines. Many shrugged their shoulders when they read the story because they knew nothing would come out of it.

Political interference indeed soon let the boxer off the hook even as the law enforcement agents wished they could be allowed a free hand to deal with the case.

In our part of the world, some cases are fraught with political interferences and woe betides a police officer who seeks to be professional in handing such matters. They would soon find themselves on transfer to the remotest part of the country at a time when they least expect such a movement.

We want to be proved wrong this time around that the law will be allowed to take its course with no politician threatening a police officer if Bukom Banku is not released from custody.