Despite increased police officers in numerous towns across the region, mob justice is progressively becoming a prevalent practice in the Bono Region, resulting in the loss of lives.
The situation, sometimes known as "immediate justice" or "jungle justice," is causing terror among locals because no one knows who will be the next victim.
The Bono Regional Police Command has received more than ten cases of mob justice in less than four months, all of which have resulted in the deaths of the victims.
Communities
Wamanafo in the Dormaa East District, Penkwase, a Sunyani suburb, and Abesim in the Sunyani Municipality are among the communities where people have died. Odomase, in the Sunyani West Municipality, is another community.
Senase and Berekum are two towns in the Berekum Municipality.
According to the authorities, there have been more than five documented occurrences of mob justice at Senase near Berekum this year alone.
Males between the ages of 20 and 35 were the victims, who were suspected of being criminals.
The situation in the region has deteriorated to the point where a suspected criminal is lynched by a mob every month.
The victims were all killed as a result of the criminals' use of aggressive weapons such as stones, blocks, metals, sticks, and machetes, among other things.
Suspected criminals were set ablaze with old car tyres, petrol, and other flammable items in some situations.
innocent people's life
The phenomenon of mob or swift justice is not new. There have been times in the not-too-distant past when such heinous tactics were employed to extinguish the lives of those suspected of committing various crimes.
Although it is understandable that some communities adopt mob justice to administer rapid justice to suspected criminals, the practice is prohibited.
Community members, as well as observers or passers-by, are generally involved in the act, which is done to safeguard the community from criminals.
People accused of being witches, wizards, adulterers, and homosexuals are sometimes subjected to mob justice in different sections of the country, not simply suspected criminals.
Anti-lynching movement
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Augustine Kingsley Oppong, the Bono Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), informed the Daily Graphic that the police command had initiated an anti-lynching campaign to end the region's mob justice problem.
He added that the campaign was launched to raise public awareness about the dangers of this way of punishing suspected criminals.
ASP Oppong stated that the command was also looking into some of the crimes in the area and that if necessary, criminals would be taken to court.
"I oppose mob justice," ASP Oppong said, adding that questioning suspects might lead to the arrest of more culprits.
"When you kill a suspected criminal, you also eliminate the police's possibility of solving these cases." He remarked, "You can only weaken the guy to facilitate his apprehension, but you can't kill him."