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A member of the Council of State, Samuel Okudzeto is calling on the leadership of the country to as a matter of urgency, rise against increasing incidents of mob justice.

Commenting on the brutal murder killing of Commander of a military detachment in the Central Regional town of Denkyira Obuasi by a mob, Mr. Okudzeto said the Ghanaian society had long moved away from the “jungle era" to an era of civility where rule of law is absolute.

Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama, was said to have gone for his usual early morning physical exercise when a mob attacked him, stoned and burnt him claiming they mistook him for an armed robber. So far, the police have arrested 14 persons thought to have played key role leading to the young officer’s death.

Speaking Friday, June 2, 2017, on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM, the former President of the Ghana Bar Association said the nation must take a stand and nib the barbaric act in the bud.

Worried at the development, Mr. Okudzeto observed: “Something wrong has happened to our culture and I think we as leaders, need to inculcate into people [that] we are not in the jungle any longer”.

“In the jungle, the strongest is the winner but in a civilized community,…we put laws in place that will guide and guard [society]. And so even if I caught you doing something wrong, the law still requires that the legal process should take place,” he told sit-in host Nhyira Addo.

The politics of division

The interview was to offer him the opportunity to give insights into his book titled SAM; A life of service to God and County. The book speaks about the life of Mr. Okudzeto as one-time military officer, public servant, politician and a legal luminary.

He observed the nation needed rethinking to address the worrying trend of deep-rooted division that politics is creating among the people. “Politics is a question of we thinking differently…perhaps even the goal is the same,” he stated.

Nonetheless, Mr. Okudzeto is confident the younger breed of politician is capable of changing the trend and see politics as a mere difference in ideologies and not necessarily having hatred for those having opposing views.

“The locking of the horns is part of the insanity that has pervaded our society [but] I have faith that we can educate the young ones to understand that fisticuff does not solve the problem,” advised the man who once represented the people of North Tongu Constituency of the Volta Region, at the Constituent Assembly.

Fighting corruption

On fighting corruption, the former Chair of the International Advisory Commission of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and a member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association said the canker had become so pervasive to the extent that it has become cancerous.

“We need to set up proper machinery if we want to fight this cancer. Corruption is a cancer because there’s nowhere in this country that people will not ask you to pay money for the work that they are being paid to do”.

For government to succeed in this fight, the prominent lawyer wants the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the state institution mandated to lead the campaign, to be adequately resourced.

“We have CHRAJ but it is almost toothless because we have not provided it with tools it needs. The corruption is something that we really need to take a holistic action about”.