The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has said that the arrest of NPP activists for their social media comments amounts to tyrannical, oppressive rule.
Ahiagbah was commenting on the arrest of TikToker Akosua Serwah Minat, who was detained for a threat against President John Dramani Mahama.
He wrote on his X page that “Mr. President, you inherited a democracy and have turned it into a tyranny, a cruel, oppressive, and unfair abuse of government power. It is shameful. Very shameful. Extremely shameful.”
Meanwhile, on a different platform, Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emmanuel Bombande, said that hate speech cannot be described as free speech.
He made the point that it will be disingenuous to describe hate speech as Free speech.
“If you engage in hate speech and say that it is free speech, then you are being disingenuous,” Emmanuel Bombande said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, May 23, also in reaction to the arrest of the NPP Bono Region Chair Kwame Baffoe (Abronye DC).
He was speaking against the backdrop that the High Court in Accra granted Abronye bail after he was earlier remanded into custody following his arraignment on charges of false publication.
Abronye appeared before the court on a motion for bail pending trial, moved by his counsel, former Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who was led by former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame.
“We move in terms of the motion paper and pray that the applicant be granted bail pending trial,” counsel for the applicant submitted.
The prosecution, represented by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, indicated that the Republic was not opposed to the application.
The court subsequently granted Abronye bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with two sureties.
As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered the NPP communicator to report to the Police CID once every fortnight, surrender all travel documents, and refrain from travelling outside the jurisdiction without the express permission of the Registrar.
Abronye’s earlier remand sparked criticism from sections of the NPP and some legal commentators, who argued that the decision amounted to an abuse of his constitutional rights.
However, the presiding judge, in explaining the basis for the remand order, stated that the court was guided by concerns over the likelihood of the accused committing another offence if granted immediate bail.
