Former National Security Minister Francis Poku has described the enactment of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999), by the former NPP administration as a “knee-jerk reaction”, arguing that Ghana’s challenge is not necessarily the absence of laws but the failure to effectively enforce them.
Speaking as a panellist at a National Policy Dialogue organised by Election Watch Ghana on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Mr. Poku questioned the circumstances surrounding the passage of Act 999 and whether the legislation has effectively addressed political vigilantism.
Act 999 was enacted in 2019 to disband vigilante groups, including political party vigilante groups and land guards, and to prohibit acts of vigilantism following the Ayawaso West Wuogon incident. The law was assented to on August 23, 2019.
Mr. Poku, however, argued that the passage of the law was largely a reaction to an immediate security and political situation rather than a solution to the deeper challenges surrounding vigilantism.
“This Vigilante Act 999 was a knee-jerk reaction because as far as I’m concerned, within 24 hours the system should have known what had happened because those involved were within national security,” he said.
He questioned why, years after the enactment of the law, the country was still struggling to identify and bring all alleged perpetrators of political violence to justice.
“The question we need to ask is: if the act is of the law, why has this taken us from 2019 to 2026 that we still cannot find the perpetrators, or all the perpetrators.”
According to Mr. Poku, the fundamental problem is not the absence of legislation but the unwillingness or inability of institutions to properly apply existing laws.
“The problem shows that we don’t have the law. The problem rather is that we don’t want to work with the laws, or know the laws to work.”
He said several offences that Act 999 seeks to address could already be prosecuted under existing criminal legislation.
“The reality of what is happening is that the acts has become redundant. All the institutions of the state are doing, particularly the police, are acting with the existing laws as enshrined in the criminal code.”
Mr. Poku also questioned the practicality of enforcing some provisions of Act 999, particularly where investigators must establish sufficient evidence to secure convictions.
He argued that the severity of some of the provisions could further complicate enforcement.
“So let’s look at the law again. It is never going to work,” he said.
The former security minister also turned attention to the issue of land guards, arguing that the problem cannot be addressed through Act 999 alone.
He called for a broader examination of the responsibilities of Ghana’s constitutional organs, particularly the executive and the courts, to determine why some citizens resort to taking the law into their own hands.
Mr. Poku further proposed greater use of private security organisations, suggesting that experienced retired military and police officers could be encouraged to establish such organisations and contribute to the country’s security needs.
He maintained that Ghana must reconsider the law and determine how existing legislation and institutions can be used more effectively to deal with vigilantism and related offences.
His remarks formed part of discussions at the National Policy Dialogue on “Assessing the Implementation of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999) and Its Implications for National Security and Democratic Governance.”
The programme brought together political actors, security experts, academics and other stakeholders to examine the implementation and effectiveness of the law.
