Minority Leader in Parliament, Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

In a press release signed by the Minority Leader in Parliament, he raised concerns over the hasty arraigned prosecution of Nana Darkwa Baafi, by the police which the release noted was engineered by the special aide to ex-President J.J. Rawlings, Mr Kofi Adams, who is also the deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The minority also described the two weeks remand slapped on the NPP activist by the circuit court judge Mr. C. A. Wilson as a mockery and an abuse of judicial process in relation to the trial of the NPP activist.

It added that the action taken against the young man smacks of a resurrection of an obnoxious piece of legislation, which according to the minority, had been comatosed over the last 35 years to charge and prosecute Nana Baafi under section 208 of the criminal offence which seeks to criminalise free speech despite the fact that the Criminal Libel Law was expunged by the previous NPP administration.

It continued that the past regime of NPP suffered similar unsubstantiated remarks from high profile NDC members which they said caused fear and alarm, yet none was arrested for prosecution.

“We the NPP in Parliament have sworn to protect and preserve the fundamental human rights and freedoms of our nation as the preamble of our constitution states,” the statement said.

“We are aware that the sovereignty of Ghana resides in Ghanaians in whose name and welfare the power of governance are to be exercised within the limits laid in the constitution,” it added.

“We are however not entirely satisfied with this because it is our candid opinion that provision of legislation which criminalizes free speech should be repealed,” the Minority in Parliament observed.

However, the release admonished the media to be responsible and exhibit decorum in its reportage and cautioned contributors to radio programmes to be circumspect in their utterances.

STORY: ANTHONY KWESI COOMSON