By: Charles Ntiamoah-Mensah

Captain Mahama was 35 yeas old, and his heinous murder that was captured on video by presumably one of the mob and went viral has been simply a bad exclamation point on the need to stop the Ghanaian youth from taking matters into their hands and administering their own brand of ill conceived justice.

It is natural to ask some immediate questions: Does the town have police presence? If so where were they? With or without the police every town or village in Ghana has elders to guide the youth. Where were they? Would they have stood by if the victim were one of their own relatives? What will happen to the perpetrators when they are caught? Being brutally honest, we have a practice in Ghana that must be addressed. All it takes is for someone to shout "Kronfuo, Julor, Thief" in your direction and a mob will appear from nowhere to rain stones and sticks on you until you die. Petrol will poured on your dying body and lit to speed you along. That is instant mob justice where no questions are asked. You could be an innocent passer-by, or even someone whose fault is no more than bumping into another. Whatever the cause, does it warrant jungle justice?

The government must provide adequate law enforcement in all towns and villages to curb the armed robbery and serious crimes being committed. The people will feel safe in their surroundings and so will not break any law when an armed robber is caught or a person is suspected to be one as in the case of the late military officer.

Such wicked behavior prevents development and scares investors. The government must begin to crack the whip.

The people must understand that you cannot take a life and get away with it. The law is not a respecter of persons. No one is above the law and so as citizens we must respect the law and observe them. Lynching is a crime and the youth must understand that clearly.

My condolences go to the bereaved family of the late Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama.