Kpebu Speaks Truth To Power: Mahama Worse Than Akufo-Addo on Free Speech

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has criticised President John Mahama’s administration over what he describes as an increasing pattern of arresting individuals for comments deemed insulting or offensive to political appointees and public officials.

Lawyer Kpebu claimed the government has detained more people for political utterances in its first 18 months than former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo did during his entire eight-year tenure.

Speaking on TV3, Lawyer Kpebu described the situation as a poor record for President Mahama and urged the government to reconsider its approach to dealing with offensive public commentary.

“For one and a half years, this current government has arrested more people on matters of free speech than Akufo-Addo’s eight years. It is a bad record for John Mahama; they should be careful. Mahama should pay attention,” he said.

In May this year, barely three months ago, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) documented 14 arrests linked to false news and offensive speech within the first 16 months of President Mahama’s tenure, almost double the number of such arrests during the entire eight years of Nana Akufo-Addo’s presidency, which was just eight.

The MFWA asserted that 14 arrests over political insults within 16 months under the Mahama administration, compared with eight arrests throughout the Akufo-Addo era, reflects an estimated 950% increase in the rate of arrests over political insults.

The MFWA publicly described it as an increasing “weaponisation” of laws to criminalise free speech, warning that the trend threatens Ghana’s democratic credentials. Many more such arrests have continued since May when the MFWA documented the 14 cases.

Lawyer Kpebu, in his submissions on Saturday, argued that insults directed at presidents and other public officials may be offensive, but arresting every person who crosses that line is neither practical nor healthy for democratic debate. “You can’t shut people down by arrests,” he said.

The private legal practitioner argued that Ghana’s democratic history is replete with instances where politicians and other public figures made harsh or offensive remarks about those in power without facing arrest.

“During Akufo-Addo’s tenure, Mahama called him and others ‘Akyem Sakawa Mafia’; who arrested him?” Martin Kpebu asked.

He further recalled that the late former President Jerry John Rawlings made strong accusations against former President John Agyekum Kufuor while the latter was in office, without being arrested.

“Late President Jerry John Rawlings called former President J.A. Kufuor, while in office, a thief. He didn’t arrest J.J. You can’t shut people down by arrests. I think the government should sit up. As for the insult, there is nothing you can do; it’s part of accountability,” Martin Kpebu stressed.

Lawyer Kpebu acknowledged that insulting public officials was inappropriate but argued that arrests were not the solution.

He suggested that the country should instead have a broader conversation about alternative ways of responding to offensive public commentary without resorting to detention.

He proposed measures such as fines or public naming and shaming, where appropriate, arguing that attempting to arrest everyone who makes insulting remarks would be neither practical nor desirable in a democracy.

“We said Akufo-Addo was stone-deaf; ‘mampam’, did he arrest me? Nana Yaa Jantuah called Akufo-Addo Nebuchadnezzar; she popularised it. Allow Ghanaians to talk,” Martin Kpebu said.

Lawyer Martin Kpebu’s comments came amid renewed debate over free speech and the use of state institutions, following the opposition New Patriotic Party’s “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration on Thursday, August 6.

The arrests have been carried out using Section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and Section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act (Act 775)—legislation the MFWA terms the “Twin Laws,” describing them as vestiges of the colonial-era criminal libel provisions.

The MFWA expressed grave concern over what it describes as the “discriminatory and disproportionate” application of these provisions, which it says are increasingly being deployed to settle reputational disputes involving public officials, bypassing civil remedies in favour of custodial intimidation.

Among the cases cited by the MFWA are:

Wendell Nana Yaw Yeboah (Democracy Hub activist) – arrested on November 26, 2025, after alleging three Regional Ministers were complicit in illegal mining operations. He had issued a formal retraction and apology before his arrest.

Samuel Amadotor (blogger) – detained on November 20, 2025, following a complaint by a former Board Chairman of the National Communications Authority.

Kwame Baffoe (Abronye DC) – NPP Bono Regional Chairman, arrested on September 8, 2025, for “offensive conduct conducive to breach of the peace” and “publication of false news” after criticising the Inspector General of Police.

Akyemkwaa Nana Kofi Asare (Wontumi TV presenter) – abducted on August 12, 2025, following on-air claims linking President Mahama to a fatal military helicopter crash.

Prince Ofori (Fante Comedy) and Yayra Abiwu (Akosua Jollof) – TikTok creators arrested on August 12, 2025, over live-stream comments regarding the helicopter crash.

Alfred Ababio Kumi – former parliamentary aspirant arrested on May 17, 2025, over social media claims about judicial misconduct.

The MFWA pointed to a striking contradiction between the current administration’s actions and President Mahama’s previous stance on free speech.

While in opposition in 2022, Mahama wrote an open letter to then-President Nana Akufo-Addo warning against the “growing criminalisation of speech and journalism in Ghana,” describing the use of state power to intimidate dissent as “a dangerous blueprint” for democracy.

In its 2024 manifesto, the NDC also pledged to repeal laws harmful to press freedom, and shortly after assuming office, President Mahama reaffirmed his commitment to uphold freedom of expression under the 1992 Constitution.