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🇬🇭 Ghana /Elections & Politics

Cut off the demand: Kan-Dapaah urges political parties to end appetite for vigilante services

From Daily Graphic · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Former National Security Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah argues that ending political vigilantism in Ghana requires addressing the demand from political elites, not just banning services.
  • He stressed that legislative enforcement will fail unless political parties confront their internal dynamics and reliance on informal security groups.
  • Kan-Dapaah's remarks highlight the link between political party governance, electoral competition, and the rise of vigilante groups, suggesting that targeting top-level sponsors is key.

Ghana's former Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has pinpointed the demand for vigilante services among political elites as the root cause of political violence and vigilantism. He asserted that focusing solely on legislative bans is insufficient, arguing that the ultimate solution lies in dismantling this demand.

We have vigilantes who are distributors, causing harm everywhere. But the real issue is the people who demand vigilante services.

— Albert Kan-DapaahIdentifying the demand side as the primary driver of vigilantism.

Speaking at a National Policy Dialogue on the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, Kan-Dapaah emphasized that laws will remain ineffective unless political parties address their internal structures and their reliance on informal security groups. "We must stop them from demanding vigilante services, and there will be no need for you to come up with any law forever," he stated, underscoring the need to tackle the core drivers of the phenomenon.

Kan-Dapaah's commentary comes amid rising security concerns in West Africa, where political violence and militarized youth wings can create fertile ground for extremist infiltration. The dialogue, organized by Election Watch Ghana, aimed to foster a non-partisan approach to political accountability ahead of upcoming elections. Experts noted that the supply-and-demand chain for vigilante groups is directly linked to political party operations and electoral competition.

We must stop them from demanding vigilante services, and there will be no need for you to come up with any law forever.

— Albert Kan-DapaahArguing for addressing the root cause rather than relying solely on legislation.

The former minister's remarks suggest a strategic shift towards targeting the sponsors who fund and protect these networks. By choking off the incentives for political violence at the highest levels, the state can potentially dismantle the vigilante infrastructure and promote more stable democratic governance.

If you want to solve a problem, look at some of the political issues. Some of the issues we have are tied directly to broader national security concerns, including terrorism.

— Albert Kan-DapaahConnecting political party governance to national security threats.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Graphic. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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