Security Analyst, Colonel Festus Aboagye (Rtd), has alleged that Ghana’s two dominant political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have developed a “gentleman’s agreement” that discourages them from pursuing members of the opposing party who are implicated in political violence.
According to him, the alleged arrangement has created a cycle of impunity in which political actors avoid taking decisive action against members of opposing parties because they expect reciprocal treatment when power changes hands.
He made the remarks at the National Policy Dialogue on Vigilantism, organised by Election Watch Ghana at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.
Col. Aboagye said the pattern was driven by the fact that both parties have members who could potentially fall foul of the law.
“The two political actors, and we need to say the two main political actors experientially have been the only ones who have been able to govern this country since the advent of this constitution, appear to have a sort of gentleman’s agreement, a club mentality, that ‘I will not deal with you so that when you are in power you don’t deal with me,” Col. Aboagye said.
“Each party has members who run foul of the law, who go soft with you, and when you come to power you also go soft with us.”
He argued that the persistence of political vigilantism was therefore not simply a legal or institutional problem, but also a political one.
“The reality of what is happening is that the act has become redundant,” he said, referring to the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999).
The security analyst questioned why perpetrators of political violence were not consistently prosecuted under the specific anti-vigilantism legislation.
He cited cases in which individuals accused of political violence had allegedly escaped accountability, arguing that the failure to prosecute such cases reinforced the perception that political actors could act with impunity.
“If you want Act 999 to be relevant, then let’s deal with the political actors,” he said.
Col. Aboagye said the focus should not be limited to individuals who carry out acts of violence on behalf of political interests, but should extend to those who allegedly organise, direct or benefit from such activities.
“Let’s bring them together. And not go after the small boys and the small girls, you know, who act on their behalf,” he said.
He said Ghana’s political parties and state institutions must confront the political incentives that allow vigilantism to persist if Act 999 and other laws are to have meaningful effect.
Source: Citi Newsroom
