Former President Jerry John Rawlings has described a group of persons who participated in the lynching of a military officer at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region as uncivilized, cruel and irresponsible people whose behavior must not be tolerated in society.

According to the former President who was once a military officer himself, the mob action by the residents must serve as a wakeup call to all, particularly the security agencies to "wake up to our duties and our responsibilities" in order to prevent a repeat of such a cruel act.

The former President said this when he paid a courtesy call on the overlord of the Waala Traditional Area, Naa Seidu Fuseini Pelpuo at his palace as part of preparation toward the commemoration of the 38th anniversary celebration of the June 4 uprising in Wa.

“This is a very uncivilised behavior and the sooner some ways found to contain this irresponsibility, this cruelty, the better it will be for all of us,” he lamented.

He said the army officer’s death has put the entire country in a state of shock and grief, thus his demise must serve as a wakeup call for all citizens, government and the law courts to act responsibly towards creating a discipline society.

He said, “The loss of the Captain has sent a shock wave throughout the country and I sincerely hope that it will serve as a wakeup call to all of us; to government, the law enforcement agencies, the courts, to wake up to our duties and our responsibilities in order to prevent these sort of things from happening in the future.”

Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama was lynched by a mob on May 29 at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region. Some 42 persons alleged to have taken part in the act are currently standing trial.