The Ghana Police Service must, with immediate effect, identify and arrest Mr. Ralph Saint Williams, a social media activist, and his accomplices for the violent attack they demonstrated against clinicians at the Ridge Hospital in a viral video circulating on social media.
Their actions are a clear violation of the fundamental human rights and freedoms of health workers at the hospital. More importantly, it is an act of gender-based violence and an assault against the. Their criminal behaviour must be investigated and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others. 
It is important to note that every citizen has his or her fundamental human rights protected under the 1992 Constitution. Each person has the right to a safe and secure environment to work without intimidation, discrimination or any form of threat. In an era where states are concerned with youth radicalisation, extremism and threats of terrorism, such acts, if left unchecked, can lead to impunity and undermine the safety of individuals and communities.
From the human security perspective, citizens must be free from fear and free from want. No individual or group of persons must be subjected to such threats and attacks when they are carrying out their lawful duties. The fact that some self-acclaimed power-wielding individuals decide to take the law into their own hands and assault health workers must be a source of concern for the country.
It could be recalled that Mr. Ralph Saint Williams, during a demonstration in 2024, was among the group that blocked the major highway at the 37 Military Hospital. He was heard in an audio saying people die always as such, they will not allow an ambulance to drive through for a sick person to receive an emergency when it was needed.
Such a person has shown to be violent, radical, and has no respect for humanity, and will do anything to advance his cause, even if his actions affect the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. Given these, he must be brought before the law to end the hostilities he is waging against others.
In addition, to ensure that health workers feel safe and protected in delivering their services to humanity, such acts must be treated as a serious offence against the law so that perpetrators are brought to book. Doing so will build the confidence of service providers who take care of the nation’s well-being.
By: Nana Yaw Fianko, Fellow, Institute for Economic Research, Policy, and Practice (IERPP)
