Dear President John Dramani Mahama,
In the eight years of Akufo-Addo’s presidency, when the noose around the neck of free expression remained forever tight, I was one of those who spoke out constantly.
Not only did I speak up, but I also missed no chance to remind Ghanaians of the freedom we had enjoyed under your first term, largely due to your tolerance of free speech. I told them you were not as vindictive as Akufo-Addo and his administration.
I said these things not because I hated Akufo-Addo. Neither was I campaigning for you, as others construed it.
I’d lived that freedom under your presidency. I believed in your tolerance, your quest to see an atmosphere of free speech, even when you were the target of toxic speech and vitriol.
When you became president again, I expected nothing less because I hadn’t seen you change in that aspect of your character.
That is why I feel so ashamed about what is happening now. It is as if we are in a military regime. Ghanaians, especially members of the opposition NPP, are constantly harassed under the widely abused law of publishing false news. Aside from Abronye, others have spent weeks in custody for no crime other than making harmless comments. Someone was arrested and detained for posting about power outages.
Mr President, this is a blot in your presidency, a severe dent in your high reputation as a friend of the media and a guardian of free expression.
This is not the John Mahama I know, the Mahama whose high level of tolerance I could vouch for without batting an eyelid.
Why have I left the police and the judiciary to focus on you?
An elder who sits at home and watches children eat the forbidden snake will not be left out when a roll call of the snake’s eaters is taken. So said the sages of old. And it remains true to this day.
You appointed the IGP. You appointed the Director of the BNI. The political officeholders whose complaints have led to the arrest and detention of citizens are your appointees.
Calling your appointees and security agencies to order is not an interference in their lawful duty. It is safeguarding the integrity of our democracy, protecting the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of the people.
There’s a reason members of the governing party are not the target. The security agencies and some judges have resorted to these shameful actions because they are too eager to please the political authority headed by you. As we experienced in the past, members of the incumbent party do worse and get away with it.
Mr President, you mustn’t sit down and watch. It is your presidency. It is your legacy. Defend it. Don’t put those of us who trust in your tolerance to shame.
Free speech is not a crime, even if it is laced with stupidity, as is the case in many of these instances. The law against publishing false information that causes fear and panic is being abused. It is being used to settle political scores, and the head of state must be concerned.
Many years ago, Ghanaians woke up at dawn with fear and panic. False information swept the nation, claiming an earthquake was imminent and that people should leave their homes. It was one of the rare instances in which false news had, indeed, caused “fear and panic” in the nation.
The framers of the law probably anticipated such rare situations, but now the law is being used to teach critics of the government a lesson. It is used to show them where power lies. And you must not sit unconcerned.
After keeping people in custody, the cases don’t succeed in court because the charges are stupid and lack legal legs to stand up in court.
If this was wrong under Akufo-Addo, it must be wrong under Mahama, especially now that it’s worsening.
I hope you sit up and act. Don’t feign ignorance or innocence. You can’t be. The buck stops with you.
Yours sincerely,
Manasseh Azure Awuni.
