The National Peace Council is expected to resume today, Thursday, September, 21, 2019, the ongoing dialogue at Peduase seeking for modalities to address vigilantism in the country after a short break.
Today’s expanded dialogue will focus on examining the draft roadmap and code of conduct prepared by the Technical Committee as part of steps to tackle the menace.
The draft Code of Conduct designed by the NPC would be considered as one of the deliverables in the preparation of the roadmap, which would be presented to the parties for their consideration upon formulation.
Stakeholders at the meeting include the Centre for Democratic Development Ghana, Institute of Democratic Governance.
The rest are the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, and the West Africa Network for Peace building (WANEP).
It would be recalled that President Akufo-Addo in his State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Thursday, February 21, called on the leadership of the two main leading political parties (NPP and NDC) to help find a lasting solution to the menace of political vigilantism in Ghana.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has given his assent to the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019, which bans acts of vigilantism in Ghana, disbands vigilante groups, including political party vigilante groups and land guards.
Per the law, a person who directly or indirectly instigates or solicits the activity of a vigilante, facilitates or encourages vigilantism, or conceals a vigilante to avoid lawful arrest, commits an offence, and is liable, on conviction, to a term of imprisonment of not less than ten (10) years and not more than fifteen (15) years.