In the end the forecourt of the State House looked taciturn – perhaps drab – with no one in sight. A few hours earlier, the place was filled with family, friends and sympathizers of the late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama.
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A death every Ghanaian should feel guilty of
The late Major was given a state burial, but his death leaves a dark cloud hovering over the head of every Ghanaian, a year after.
Major Mahama: A death every Ghanaian should feel guilty of
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Scores of Ghanaians trooped to the State House to witness the funeral of the 31-year old soldier who was gruesomely murdered over a week ago. The whole atmosphere, as expected, was cringed with sorrow, grief and low-spirits.
Who would ever have thought that this could happen in Ghana? For a country that prides itself as the ultimate hub of hospitality, how did it ever get to this?
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--- June 9, 2017 will forever be remembered in the history of Ghana. Just like the 6th Marchs, 1st Julys and the 21st Septembers, this day will also not be forgotten anytime soon.
But while the aforementioned dates inspire hope and joy, June 9 marks a day of reflection; a day when we were reminded of how we lost all our humanitarian and altruistic senses.
The late Major Mahama was a noble man with dreams just like everybody else. He was in Denkyira-Obuasi as part of his assigned duties. A duty which meant he should protect Ghanaians at all cost, however, he was betrayed by his own people. He was beaten, stoned and burned without any provocation.
His killers claim they thought he was a thief, and so they lynched him. They did not just kill his body, but also his soul.
But this is a man whose death is set to make a statement in the life of every Ghanaian. For so long we condoned mob (in)justice and made it look like the ideal punishment for the wayward. Today, regrettably, we mourn a man whose death was as the result of a mad system we created.
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We created a monster and today it has hit us where it hurts most. We claim we are a democratic country, but we throw our laws to the dogs when it comes to some selected people. Even if Major Mahama was a thief, did he deserve such inhuman treatment?
Nobody deserves to die this way; not even the worst of criminals. But we have played the unconcerned card all these years. We have watched 100s of innocent people lose their lives as a result of this absurd reasoning. We always kept quiet and pretended not to care.
It had to take death of this soldier to wake us up from this folly. We had to be dealt a reality-check, but unfortunately it was Major Mahama who paid the price. That is why we, as Ghanaians, are all guilty. Instead of uprooting the bad seeds, we allowed them to grow poisonous fruits.
Today the late Major Mahama lays cold. His passion stopped, his dreams brought to a halt and his family separated from him, but we must all take the blame. If we had banished the demons of mob justice earlier, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point.
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Now he is gone, but the circumstances of his death will always be remembered. And the guilt will also always hover around the head of every Ghanaian. Tales will be told of this day: we will narrate it to our children and grandchildren when we turn old.
But more importantly, now we know the way forward. A way which has always been clear, yet we refused to see. The security services should be up and doing. After all, the fact that many people no longer trust our Police is the reason why this insane reasoning began in the first place.
The 42 persons – and hopefully the rest hiding are sniffed out too – that have been arrested in connection with Major Mahama’s death should be made to face the full rigors of the law to serve as deterrent to others.
Never should this happen again. Major Mahama may be dead now, but his spirit breathes an awakening wind that has taken over the length and breadth of this country. That is why as his coffin – wrapped with the red, gold and green of Ghana – was being marched for burial, cries could be heard from all angles.
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His death would, and should, change this nation.
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