The 1980s and 1990s were nostalgic for so many reasons. And for those of us who lived through that period and experienced it especially as kids and teenagers, life wasn't about PlayStations, X-boxes, iPhones, Netflix, YouTube, etc.  Matter of fact to own a brick-building Tetris game, a colored TV and a VHS recorder put one in a different social class from many of us in the alikoto and chaskele [do they play these anymore?] social brackets. But what we all experienced outside of our social brackets were the cinematic explosion of American gangsterism and war films or "Cini' [as they used to be called before movies] in a bourgeoning cinema industry that included powerhouses like Orion, Globe, Opera Theatre, Palladium, Plaza, Roxy, Rex, Regal, etc.

Unfortunately, the advent of the prosperity gospel and salvation entrepreneurship as a result of epiphanic revival activities of the Charismatic and Pentecostal movement of the late 90s killed this bourgeoning cinema industry, which could have rivalled the multi-billion-dollar box office AMC and Regal movie theatres in America today. What happened next became an entanglement [not in the Jada Pinkett-Smith way] of church and Cini centres and the gradual transformation of these Cini spaces into modern symbolic temples of worship.

Okay, let me circle back to my main focus; the cinematic explosion of American gangsterism and war films. The old cinemas became the gateway that ushered us into a new reality and engagement with the lure of the West, especially America, through "cini." All of a sudden, we entered a new virtual reality where we met actors like Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins, Clint Eastwood, Richard Gere, etc. However, none of these American star actors impacted our socio-political and electoral journey back into a constitutional democracy since 1992 like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Mr. T, Jean Claude VanDamme, Cynthia Rothrock, Steven Seagal, etc.

By way of "cinis" such as First Blood, Conan the Destroyer, Terminator, Commando, Delta Force, Death Before Dishonor, and many more, these stars introduced us to fictional bad-ass action heroic characters like Rambo, Terminator, Cyborg, Mr T, American Ninja, Commando, Killer, Macho man, etc., who by their muscled looks, ridiculous stunts,  body counts [people they killed in the films], and their ability to overcome impossible odds to save the day, awed us, but also fed into a local culture that was already intoxicated and fascinated with a nativist imagination of masculinity and strong man politics.

So, it soon came to pass that, most alleyways and abandoned spaces around the country began to be turned into bodybuilding spots. Growing up as a kid at Laterbiokorshie in the 80s, I used to sneak into some of these bodybuilding joints to watch young men like Tetteh Quarshie, Teye, Bro. Charles, Agyingo, etc., as they literally pumped iron all day. I used to dream and visualize while watching them, about a 'future me' all bulked up, chiseled and six-packed [I still have on just my one-pack today, I believe most men my age can relate to this].

Unfortunately, the high unemployment rate of the late 80s and early 90s on the back of the many failed Bretton Woods  Structural Adjustments and Economic Recovery Programs, made the infatuations with the fictional Rambos, Terminators, cyborgs, etc., to be just that. Boys and Men were pumping iron just for show. And then bam, May 18, 1992, happened. This was the day that the ban on party politics was lifted in Ghana, in preparation for multi-party elections slated for the latter part of the year. Overnight, these fictional American bad-ass "Cini" characters moved off the screens, became flesh, walked among politicians, and found a new home right inside the nation's political and electoral system.

Like the bad-ass characters on the screens, these high testosterone individuals wedded themselves to politicians who were themselves looking for some muscle to show how tough they were. I experienced this first-hand in 1992 when I attended a political rally in the Darkuman area. Before the "honourable" politician showed up, this high testosterone and menacing-looking young men from nowhere started clearing anyone who happened to be in their way. It felt surreal for me as a young lad as I witnessed the brutal show of strength and force of the Rambos, Terminators, and Cyborgs in our midst. I saw grown men and women cowed in fear at the sight of these film characters walking among men.

And election cycle after election cycle since 1992, we kept feeding the beast inside of them as they wreaked havoc upon the land in the biblical sense just as the Philistines did to the Israelites. As our penchant for politics of strongmen ascended, so did the stock of our political Rambos, Terminators, and Cyborgs. The more mayhem they unleashed, the more we were cowed into submission as no one, whether old, young, journalists, political opponents, students, etc., were spared. Even the Ghanaian Police force stood in awe of these muscular and full able-bodied Rambos and Terminators as they [Police] were not spared either.

They left in their wake, body counts [just as in the films], broken spirits and limbs, maimed bodies, etc. And with every electoral cycle,  the violence they unleash made that of the previous election cycle look like child's play. And with each electoral cycle they became more and more emboldened, to the extent that during the last electoral cycles of 2012 and 2016,  they morphed from their enforcer roles on the periphery to occupying a seat at the table by getting themselves elected into leadership positions in the two dominant political parties.

And not just that, they have been able to blackmail their paymasters into recruiting them into the State's security agencies all under the guise of "jobs for the boys." So yes, we lost what could have been a multi-billion Cedi movie industry today thanks to the Charismatic and Pentecostal salvation entrepreneurs. But not all was lost as we gained in return,  a new burgeoning industry in the form of political vigilantism.

But in January of 2019, something significant happened that for the first time provided us [as a people], our politicians, and our government the opportunity to disentangle ourselves from the unholy alliance forged in the belly of an intoxicated and nativist imagination of strong man politics. For the first time, we witnessed in real-time the extent to which these Rambos, Terminators, and Cyborgs could terrorize in broad daylight innocent citizens and even a sitting Member of Parliament with impunity and disregard for human life at the Ayawaso West bye-election.

And unlike anything since the infamous Rodney King beating in Los Angeles, California, this time all well-meaning Ghanaians saw it live, thanks to the technology of cellphones. The time for our ostrich-like pretence, posturing, and hollowed rhetoric since 1992 was over, and if there was a time to ACT to sever that umbilical cord, it was NOW. Like the story about the man who found a wounded and dying cub and brought it home only for the cub to grow and turn on him, I want to believe that the politicians themselves have started to see the writings on the wall that their hitherto unholy alliance with these groups was going to be problematic for them as they [vigilantes] gradually entrench and embed themselves within the party structures and start to assume political power.

It's for this reason that I hold the view that the presidential assent to the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019, which bans acts of vigilantism in Ghana, disbands vigilante groups, including political party vigilante groups and land guards, was in the right direction. My only concern [from a lay-man perspective] as regards the Act in its current state, is the non-inclusion of textual meaning and definition of "vigilantism." And considering the many definitions out there, this may cause interpretation problems down the road.  

The Act, however, prescribes in details what action/s it considers to be vigilantism in its application as "an act or threat of violence or intimidation undertaken by a person or a group of persons to further the interest of that person or any other person affiliated or associated with or connected or related to (a) a political party, (b) a political office holder, (c) an official or member of a political party,…"

As with all Acts that are passed into law, I am most interested in the enforcement. For I view the law to be an effective social control mechanism, when it is applied and tested to real events, the outcomes of which validates or invalidates its efficacy for future applications. It is for these reasons that I find no better testing scenario for this particular Vigilantism and Related Offences Act than the recent shooting incident during the voter registration exercise at Kasoa.

From my perched view, I  find the shooting incident involving Mavis Hawa Koomson MP for Awutu Senya East Constituency who also doubles as the Minister of Special Development Initiatives to be the best-case scenario to test this law—and considering that she acted in concert with a group of 'Ramboesque and Cyborgesque' Macho men to cause mayhem in a public place where ordinary citizens where exercising their civic rights and obligations to the State [in this Covid-19 period] makes it the perfect and ideal situation to test and validate the efficacy of this law.

Should the law be applied in Anthony Scalia's originalist and textualist form, without imbibing any extenuating and concomitant factors to dilute its application in this particular situation, it will instil trust in future application of the law and its ability to curb the menace of political vigilantism especially as we enter into the final stretch of this electoral cycle in December. As I think about it, what's the best-case scenario to test our ability at enforcement of the law than on some wannabe gangster who, by the way, was also implicit and knee-deep in the passage of the very law itself?

Day after day, we constantly hear the refrain "our institutions are weak, our institutions don't work the way they should, our institutions are ineffective" etc., etc. Yet whenever we are faced with the opportunity to make these laws and institutions work the way they should, we somehow find some opaque reason one way or the other why we can't. I hope this one will not materialize into one of forced resignation, an apology, and a pat on the back about how anyone has suffered enough as a result of being forced to resign.

I had recently discoursed with a colleague about a recent incident where a Minister was forced to resign his portfolio, and I asked him a simple question if all it takes to get off the long arms of the law is an apology, then that hungry man who stole a chicken or cat to feed himself, his wife and his children and showed remorse in court before the judge, should be pardoned and forgiven as well and allowed to go home because the stigma attached to his arrest alone is punishment enough for his infraction of the law. We can't live in a society where the law suddenly assumes new interpretations and meanings depending on who offends it. So, I am on my knees praying that we do not make this situation one of the many that we have politically skirted our way around due to who the offender/s may be.

This Kasoa Ramboesque incident has also provided an opportunity that could empower our security services, especially the Ghana Police, in their interaction with political actors, especially those in government who at every turn break all rules and are deemed to be untouchable.  I was particularly happy about the outburst from well-meaning citizens, Civil Society Organizations, the various religious Councils, but most of all, from the National Peace Council.

I am singling out the National Peace Council because I am still trying to figure out after all these years if they have made an impact. But that's a discussion for another time. The deafening silence coming from our Fifty Million Dollar Jubilee House as these issues rage on should be concerning to us all. It is just scary that neither the government nor its countless spokespersons who bask in the media limelight have stayed mute. After all, this Act we were told was the government's signature project. So, without any official government communique on the issue for over a week, it is not just a worrying sign but a scary also. We demand to hear from the government, period!

Following the timeline of events and news, I feel like [I could be wrong] the strong outburst from the public has buoyed the confidence of the Ghana Police, and they seem to be encouraged in their quest to execute their mandate without recourse to who the perpetrators are. With the recent news about the invitation [arrest?] of Mavis Hawa Koomson, I hope she got the same invitation treatment that all those who take the law into their own hands get. If the Police follow due process in their investigation and let the evidence speak for itself, then our democratic consolidation and the rule of law will be deepened. The day for elections is fast approaching, and it is prudent that the Police and the Courts act fast to prosecute this case as soon as possible.

It was infantile of me to think that for once, we could depoliticize this Ramboesque shooting incident and let the logic of objectivity take centre stage. But alas, I was wrong. The news had barely sunk in about the invitation of Mavis Hawa Koomson when the fraternal order of sycophants, acclaimed shadowy presidents, and political turncoats jumped out of the woods with the "I STAND WITH HAWA KOOMSON," "HAWA KOOMSON DEFENDED HERSELF AGAINST BULLIES," and the "HAWA KOOMSON IS A VICTIM" campaign. Gimme a break!! Please, and please, we might have for the longest been cowed into submission by these Rambos, Terminators, and Cyborgs walking among us, but that does not mean we are so stupid not to recognize the political spin underway to undermine the rule of law.

In lands not too far away from here and where our leaders run to rest their weary bones and enjoy ultra-modern health care if for nothing at all but just as a matter of principle, Mavis Hawa Koomson would have resigned over this incident. I am not a lawyer, and my understanding of the law is limited, but the people pushing these campaigns say they are LAWYERS. Am not the one saying it, they claim they are LAWYERS, and some like Mavis Hawa Koomson herself are legislators who actively participated in the passage into law the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act. So, it beats my imagination with this "I STAND WITH HAWA KOOMSON" thing. Thank God it seems not to gain any traction. Hopefully, it quietly dissipates into thin air and never resurfaces.

To conclude, let me say that it is time to sanitize [ever since a friend used the term SANITIZER I seem to have fallen in love with the word] our political and electoral system from the macho men who have existed in our imagined national history. It is time to send the Rambos, Commandos, Terminators, Cyborgs, etc., back to the screens and banished them from our political theatres. We have literally taken Tinseltown [Hollywood] too far into our national politics, and we need to decouple ourselves from that virtual and mediatized reality. For our own sake and for that of our children and theirs, the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act must be made to work and be enforceable.And all the elements [ Fire, Water, Earth, and Air] have aligned and presented to us the perfect opportunity to breathe life into this Act. Let us not waste the moment because it would all have been an exercise in futility if we let this moment elude us. The Rambos, Commandos, Terminators, Cyborgs MUST GO. They do not belong among us nor in our bourgeoning DEMOCRATIC dispensation. Let the SANITIZING effect of the law deal with this cancer once and for all. Until another time, Adios, mis amigos y Amigas.

July 27, 2020.

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The writer is a social commentator with an interest in gender inequality, female empowerment, social justice, and development with a specific focus on the socio-cultural and political construct of reality within feminist and gendered Spaces in Ghana. He can be contacted via : Mdekased15@hotmail.com