The Murder Of J.B. Danquah Adu

NEWS COMMENTARY ON THE MURDER OF MP FOR ABUAKWA NORTH J.B. DANQUAH ADU

Shocking, terrifying and incredible are just but a few adjectives that can describe the stabbing to death of the MP for Abuakwa North, Joseph Boakye Danquah Adu. The MP was murdered in cold blood under strange and mysterious circumstances in the early hours of yesterday. The narrative surrounding the sequence of events leading to his death is very funny. According to reports, the security man in the house noticed a ladder placed against the wall of the house at least an hour before the late MP returned home that fateful night.  A lot of questions beg for answers. How did the assailant come to know the MP's bedroom? Why didn't the security man raise an alarm when he noticed that a ladder was suddenly placed against the wall very late that evening? Some people have already suggested that this might be a clear case of contract killing. The good news is that the police were able to get to the scene just 15 minutes after they received a distressed call. What it means is that, by getting to the scene that early, the police were able to process the crime scene and pick vital information that will aid them in investigating this heinous crime. The police must approach this case with open mind. This is very critical so that we do not foreclose any other option. 

The latest incident re-ignites the debate over police protection for our Members of Parliament and other high profile personalities in our society. MPs such as Kan Daapah, Dr. Afriyie-Akoto, Gershon Gbediame and Joseph Amenorwode have suffered one form of attack or the other in the past. The question is, as a nation, are we in a position to provide police protection for all the 275 MPs, especially at this time when we still fall short of the UN required police to people ratio? Can we even afford it? Some are of the view that, everybody including our MPs must be able to prioritise their own personal safety and security. We pay them attractive salaries and they should be able to take care of their own security. All of us need protection and we should not entertain the idea of singling out a proportion of our population for special protection. Of course, many ordinary citizens, public servants and business owners have been killed and yet the state does not provide a one on one police security for the public. It is not also true that police or private security is a guarantee for safety because we know that, in a number of past instances, some of these attacks were orchestrated from within. 

The calibre of the people employed as house helps, security men, drivers and personal assistants must be watched carefully. The rise in criminal cases re-enforces the need for good neighbourliness and establishment of neighbourhood watch committees.  People must be bold to question strange people in their community. Again, people of the calibre of the late J.B. Danquah must take a careful look at their inter-personal relations and the kinds of activities in which they engage. They must try to avoid indulging in affairs that will bring them in conflict with others. Because some people do not easily forgive and forget things, they insist on getting their pound of flesh and in a situation like that, they can go to any extent. We are told, the late MP suffered a similar attack some years back when some young men attacked him with knives, an attack allegedly orchestrated by a girlfriend of his. This is probably, another angle which the police can pursue in its quest to unravel this mystery. It is refreshing that the NPP and its flagbearer, have urged the police to investigate this case and bring the perpetrators to justice. This implies that we must refrain from unnecessary politicisation, vilification and denigration of our state institutions, because in times of trouble, such as this, it is these same bodies we will run to for help. The question is, if we destroy them, where do we turn to when the need arises? Nonetheless, we expect the police to swiftly deal with this case. We have had similar high profile killings in the past, and it is taking the police ages to conclude their investigations. We do not expect this case to suffer a similar fate. When cases take too long to investigate, it gives people the opportunity to make all kinds of inferences. And already, ridiculously though, some people are reading politics into this case. For heaven's sake, let us approach this issue as a purely criminal one. May the soul of J. B. Danquah Adu rest in peace.

BY: CELESTINE AVI, A JOURNALIST.