OccupyGhana condemns lynching of Military Captain Mahama

Accra, June 1, GNA - OccupyGhana, a pressure group in Ghana has condemned the actions of some youth of the Denkyira-Obuasi who lynched a captain of the Ghana Army in a mob action against him claiming he was an armed-robber.

The mob action, which led to the death of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama happened in the Upper Denkyira West District Assembly of the Central in Ghana.

A statement from the pressure group OccupyGhana and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the practice of mob justice was at a dark side of our country's history, which was showing signs of regular increase than dwindling.

Members of the OccupyGhana in the statement extended condolences to Captain Mahama's family, the wife and children as well as the Ghana Armed Forces for the painful loss.

'It is unconstitutional, barbaric, unjust, unfair and criminal, and often has fatal consequences, as was the case of Captain Mahama,' the statement said.

The statement said the cancerous act did not just ensnare the innocent and deprived law enforcement agencies to investigate cases thoroughly, but also denied victims due process and constituted an abuse of their human rights as well as violation of their dignity.

It noted, 'Our Constitution demand respect of the right to life and outlaws all extra-judicial killing.'

The statement said the brutal murder of Captain Mahama exhibited a certain depravity and wanton disregard for the sanctity of human life that left a deep stain in the country.

'Should his life not have mattered more than the wish to mete out justice beside the road somewhere in Denkyira? Should we not always put life first?' it asked.

The statement noted: 'This dastardly act exposes a dire lack of appreciation of what human rights and dignity are,' adding that the perpetrators of this monstrous crime may have mirrored our nation as lacking knowledge, understanding and appreciation for basic human entitlements.

OccupyGhana recalled a similar incidence where a young woman was nearly stripped naked and abused by a mob in Kumasi.

According to the statement, the woman was allegedly caught attempting to steal GH¢1,100.00 from a shop owner in the PZ Area in Adum, Kumasi, an allegation that later was found to be false.

The statement said it behoved on all Ghanaians to join voices together in calling for comprehensive investigation into this disastrous act.

'It is incumbent on all of us not to rest until the actors in the morbid killing of Captain Mahama are found, arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law' adding, Ghanaians ought to stand up against mob justice whenever and wherever it happened.

The statement said it was high time that this malignant and festering cancer, which was getting out of hands, was rooted out of our civil society.

'We all need to remind ourselves that each of us is endowed with unalienable human rights and dignity that is buttressed by our Constitution and that we all need to respect those rights as it pertains to ourselves and to others.'

According to the statement, the late Captain Mahama belonged to the fifth Infantry Battalion (5BN) at Burma Camp in Accra, but was stationed in Denkyira-Obuasi where he commanded a detachment of soldiers officially deployed for duties in the Upper Wassa Forest Reserve.

It added that it was alleged that he wore a pistol in a holster as he jogged, when a woman who saw him mistakenly assumed he was an armed robber.

'It is further alleged that there had been a robbery in the town recently, and so the woman alerted others who organised a mob to put the late Captain into severe lynching leading his untimely death upon which his body was set on fire.

GNA