There is a growing trend in the lives of Ghanaians that seems to have
taken root in recent times. This disease has been eating away at the
fabric of our once peaceful society as it has gone on unchecked. The
reason that has ensured that this growing trend remains unchecked can
be traced to the seemingly uninterested position of our successive
governments. The trend that has turned into a sickness is violence,
the threat of violence and intimidation in the Ghanaian society. This
sickness crept into our society during the so-called revolutionary
years and continued after the transition to civilian rule.
The use of macho men as the instruments of violence and intimidation
became the norm and remain so. They operate with total disregard to
the law and without fear of prosecution by the Police. This transpires
because the Police fear these so-called macho men have the protection
of people in high places. This is compounded by the fact that
assassinations have taken place in Ghana recently without the culprits
being brought to book. The belief, though unsubstantiated, is that
they were perpetrated by some of these macho men. Three cases readily
come to mind- a journalist was assassinated in Kumasi, an employee of
Ghana Telecom was brutally murdered while some Police officers were
also murdered. All three deaths bore the hallmark of an assassination
and pointed to the modus operandi of these macho men. At the time of
going to press, none of these deaths, that caught the imagination of
Ghanaians, has been solved. In light of this, one must take seriously
any threat of violence, particularly if it is accompanied by the
perceived use of macho men.
Take the case of one poor family in the Abuakwa District in the
Eastern Region. The head of family, known as Agya Kwame, borrowed a
substantial amount of money to expand the family’s cocoa farm.
Unfortunately, poor harvests over the years meant the debt could not
be settled outright. Neither could he satisfy the periodic payments
that were due. All the creditor needs to do is to issue legal
proceedings in court to retrieve their money. On the contrary, what
does he do? He resorts to the usual violence, threats and intimidation
that have become synonymous with our society. Enter the macho men. The
creditor descended on the family compound of Agya Kwame and beat up
everyone on the property. Having done that they had the cheek to march
the family members to the Police Station, accusing them of theft. It
emerged the money had been given to Agya Kwame in 2004 and he had been
making payments up to the time of his death in 2008. The problem,
however, was that the creditor was not satisfied with the nature of
the payments. The Police immediately took sides and promised the
creditor they were going to ensure he got his money back.
A source from the family has informed GO the amount involved is
substantial and all overtures to the creditor to give them time have
fallen on deaf ears. Any overtures to the creditor see him descending
on the family with his macho men to beat and destroy the family’s
property. The situation has become so dire that the family has shifted
responsibility for the payment of the whole debt on the nephew of Agya
Kwame, one Stephen Annor, who it is believed, lives in the United
Kingdom. The family members have fled their town as a result of the
treatment suffered at the hands of the creditor and his cohorts. As it
has come to light that Stephen Annor is the legitimate heir to Agya
Kwame, the creditor has vowed he either pays him his money or forfeits
his life. This is not a mere threat judging by the existing situation
in the country. The rich virtually get away with almost anything. This
may sound trivial, but one would not wish to be in the shoes of
33-year old Stephen Annor.
In the absence of fairness in the Ghanaian society, he would rue the
day he was born if his uncle’s creditor lays hands on him. This is
given credence by our own experience with the creditor and his macho
men. Our attempt to seek clarification of the matter was met with a
savagery that can only be imagined. We were chased off by the macho
men who warned us any attempt to go to the Police will be met with a
response that will surprise us by the time we open our eyes in our
graves.
Our response to that threat is to publish this story and in our
subsequent publication we will reveal the name of the creditor to our
readers.