Punish lawbreakers or forget about peace at Sankore - Peace Council

The Peace Council in the Brong Ahafo Region have disclosed that the political clashes that keep occurring in the Asunafo South Constituency will keep on until the security agencies bring lawbreakers to book.

Speaking on the Morning Xpress on Tuesday, Alhaji Suallah Abdalla Koandah, the secretary of the Peace Council said there has not been a political will to punish perpetrators of the barbaric attacks in Sankore.

His comments follow a brute attack at the residence of the legislator for the constituency, Eric Opoku, where three persons suffered severe machete wounds.

The attack on Sunday is the second time the MP has been attacked in his own constituency, raising concerns that the attacks may have emanated from the camp of his opponents from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The political vendetta heightened after the 2008 general election when there were clashes between supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the NPP.

Since the NDC assumed power in 2009, NPP supporters reported attacks on them by people suspected to be sympathizers of the NDC. Since the NPP assumed power in 2017, supporters of the opposition NDC have also reported of attacks on them from known NPP members.

The clashes seems to be fretting the peace and tranquility in the constituency, particularly, Sankore where Mr Eric Opoku hails from.

The Peace Council believes since 2008 no action has been taken against the perpetrators of the clashes, a situation which many believe is escalating the attacks on members of the opposition party.

The Peace Council has recommended to the Police steps to calm the situation in which a strong case has been made for culprits in connection with the thuggery in the constituency too be arrested.

"As we speak now no arrest has been made...We (Peace Council) don't have the power to arrest, we don't have the power to prosecute,"Alhaji Koandah told Neil-Armstrong Mortagbe on the Morning Xpress.

To him, the police must act to stop the disturbances which have resulted in loss of lives regardless which political party is implicated.

"You punish to serve as a deterrent to someone who wants to do same," he said noting "when we have laws and the laws do not serve its purpose to bring social order" the issue can't be resolved.

He said "We (Peace Council) have ever engaged both party leadership both at the Constituency and the regional level but it has not gone well because people are not punished."

According to Alhaji Koandah, political leaders at the constituency and regional level who head the security councils should have the will to have their supporters punished to deter others, stressing that "until these things are dealt with, it will be very difficult" for the feud to be dealt with.