Jon Benjamin consoles Captain Mahama’s family

The outgoing British High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin, has expressed sadness over the lynching of an army officer as he shared words of solace with the bereaved family.

Captain Maxwell A. Mahama was lynched on Monday May 29 by irate youth of Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region on suspicion that he was an armed robber, after a group of people spotted a gun on him.

Fourteen suspects are being held in police custody in relation to the case as investigations continue.

Mr Benjamin, who commented on the issue during his speech at the Queen’s birthday party in Accra on Thursday June 1, said: “…Please allow me to extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Captain Maxwell Mahama, RIP”.

He added: “Violence can so quickly spiral and can kill as we have, so sadly, seen this week.”

Even though the lynching has not been linked to any vigilante group, he was of the view that militant groups affiliated to all political groups must be disbanded to curb increasing spate of violence in the country.

It would be recalled that members of the Delta Force attacked a court in the Ashanti Region to free some of their colleagues standing trial for attacking the regional security coordinator.

“But we call once again on all political parties to disown and disband all so-called vigilante groups which should simply have no place in a 21st Century democracy. And where such groups act violently or usurp the role of the state, they should face the full force of the law,” the diplomat concluded.