Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has launched a fierce attack on the Mahama administration over the arrest and detention of Kwame Baffoe, describing the prosecution as “state-sponsored political persecution” and a direct assault on free speech in Ghana.
Addressing the media on Saturday, Afenyo-Markin argued that the Bono Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party was being punished merely for criticising a judge in a social media video.
According to the Minority Leader, the charges of offensive conduct and publication of false news are politically motivated and designed to silence opposition voices ahead of mounting national tensions.
“This is not justice. It is persecution,” he declared, insisting that civil remedies already exist for defamation-related complaints and that criminal prosecution in such cases amounts to abuse of state power.
Afenyo-Markin further accused the government of using state security institutions to intimidate critics, linking Abronye’s case to previous arrests involving opposition communicators including Baba Amando, David Essandoh and Adenta Kumi.
He warned that Ghana was gradually drifting toward a “culture of silence,” claiming the administration was weaponising the police, intelligence agencies and sections of the judiciary against political opponents.
“The NPP will not be gagged. Not by arrest. Not by bail denial. Not by BNI detention,” he said.
The Minority Leader demanded the immediate release of Abronye DC and announced plans for a constitutional challenge against the application of Sections 207 and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act in cases involving political speech.
Story By: Sheila Obaapa Naana Frimpomaa