Opinions of Sunday, 26 January 2020

Columnist: Joel Savage

Stop threatening the life of Electoral Commission's Jean Mensah

Jean Mensah, Electoral Commissioner, Ghana Jean Mensah, Electoral Commissioner, Ghana

A threat is an act of expressing the plan to harm others by damaging one's property or person. It is an act of intimidation intended to arouse fear in the person concerned. There are several forms of threat, however, in all cases, threats are offences punishable by law.

It may be likely that the head of the Electoral Commission, Madam Jean Mensah, is facing one of the toughest challenges in her life, as her duty to see the effectiveness of votings in the forthcoming elections is under threat, over the EC's plans to issue a new Voters' Register.

Since the Electoral Commission made known to the general public and political parties in the country, about the need for a new Voters' Register for the forthcoming elections, the country has experienced demonstrations by the opposition parties, including the NDC.

A demonstration is just an organized mass movement of a group of people who are not satisfied with something, therefore, trying to draw attention to the government publicly. But when a threat comes in, that's a serious offence in any country, whether developed or developing.

Therefore, those threatening the life of Jean Mensah must understand the consequences of their actions. They must be very careful, not to take the weak judiciary system in Ghana, as an advantage to threaten the head of the Electoral Commission.

Since a threat is a crime or offense containing an explicit order to fulfill a condition, in some developed countries, it is punishable by three years imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 Euros. I believe the same law exists in Ghana.

The Ghanaian government or law enforcement officers have the right to arrest the leaders behind the threat because it's a crime to threaten someone's life. Such crime must not be tolerated in any way under the administration of Nana Akufo Addo.

Ghana is neither ready for any violent demonstrations, elections nor life-threatenings. The opposition must clearly understand to avoid that because the current Ghanaian government has the power to arrest and prosecute anyone who breaks the law.