They Want To Silence Opposition …Afenyo-Markin Warns of ‘Culture of Silence’

The Minority Leader, Osahen Afenyo-Markin, has said the National Democratic Congress (NDC)-led government has developed an allergy to political debates and scrutiny and has rather gained an appetite for a culture of silence.

Afenyo-Markin made the statement at a press conference on Sunday, May 17, 2026, during which he laid bare what he calls a deliberate, state-sponsored campaign by President John Mahama’s administration to resurrect Ghana’s abolished criminal libel laws through a sustained ‘one political arrest at a time’ strategy camouflaged as curbing reckless speech.

“I do not condone irresponsible speech. I never have. I never will. Public discourse carries responsibility. I believe that deeply. Where speech genuinely damages a person’s reputation, Ghanaian law already provides a remedy. A civil remedy. Measured, proportionate and designed precisely for that purpose.

“But what Ghanaian law does not provide, and what it was never designed to provide, is the conversion of a civil grievance, assuming without admitting that one even exists in this case, into a criminal prosecution. It does not authorise the marching of a man before a Circuit Court, the stripping of his liberty, and his consignment to a state intelligence facility”, Afenyo-Markin noted.

The Minority Leader said the latest victim of this strategy is Kwame Baffoe, known publicly as Abronye DC, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bono Regional Chairman. His crime? Speaking against a judge. His punishment? Remand to BNI custody after bail was denied. Bail was denied because, the prosecution argued, Abronye DC might speak again if he is not remanded.

‘Censorship from the bench’: The bail decision that exposed everything

On 13 May 2026, Abronye DC was arraigned before Circuit Court 9 in Accra on two charges: offensive conduct conducive to a breach of the peace (Section 207(1) of Act 29) and publication of false news (Section 208(1)). The charges arose from a social media video in which the regional chairman criticised a Circuit Court judge’s impartiality.

But it was the bail ruling that revealed the true intent.

“The prosecution asked a court to imprison a man before any finding of guilt, because he might speak again. And the court agreed,” Afenyo-Markin told journalists at an Accra press conference on Sunday, 17 May 2026.

The prosecution’s sole argument against bail was that if released, Abronye DC was likely to commit similar offences—in other words, that he would continue exercising his right to free expression.

“When a court denies bail not to serve justice, but to serve silence, it has administered political censorship from the bench,” Afenyo-Markin said. “And that, with the greatest respect, is a betrayal of every principle that gives judicial office its authority.”

The Minority Leader, a practising lawyer, called the ruling “irreconcilable with Articles 14 and 19 of the 1992 Constitution,” which guarantee personal liberty and the presumption of innocence.

The missing remand order: Holding a citizen on thin air

If the bail decision was alarming, what followed was outright unconstitutional.

Four days after the court pronounced the remand order, no signed and certified written order has been produced by the court registry, despite multiple requests from Abronye DC’s legal team.

“Counsel for Mr. Abronye has attended the registry on multiple occasions,” Afenyo-Markin said. “Each time, they were told the order was not yet ready.”

Afenyo-Markin demanded an answer: “Was a Ghanaian citizen delivered into intelligence custody on nothing more than word of mouth? If so, that detention has no documented lawful foundation whatsoever.”

The Minority Leader put the Ghana Police Service, the BNI, and Circuit Court 9 “on clear and unambiguous notice” that without a signed remand order, the detention is “not merely improper, but unlawful.”

Afenyo-Markin warned that Abronye DC is not an isolated case. He cited a string of recent political arrests under the Mahama administration, which assumed office on 7 January 2025, that together form an undeniable pattern of state-sponsored persecution.

These include David Essandoh, the NPP Agona West Constituency Organiser, who was arrested by approximately ten armed CID and BNI officials for posting an image of President Mahama with the caption “Dumsor is back.”

Also cited was Abubakar Yakubu, known as Baba Amando, the NPP Sunyani East Communications Officer, who was arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court and remanded on charges including false publication.

Another case is that of Alfred Ababio Kumi, or Adenta Kumi, who was arrested by NIB operatives in a dawn raid during which his wife suffered a miscarriage, after he submitted a petition to the President concerning Chief Justice removal proceedings.

Additionally, the residence of Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, MP for Assin South and Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee, was reportedly targeted by NIB operatives after he raised concerns about two aircraft visiting Ghana and alleged possible links to drug dealing.

“These are not isolated incidents,” Afenyo-Markin said. “They are selected examples from a deeply troubling and growing list. This is state-sponsored political persecution.”

‘The culture of silence does not announce itself with a decree’

Drawing extensively on Ghana’s authoritarian past, the Minority Leader accused the Mahama administration of using Sections 207 and 208 of Act 29 as a backdoor substitute for the criminal libel law repealed under President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2001.

He recalled the suffering of journalists and activists under the PNDC military regime, including Tommy Thompson, John Kugblenu (who died in 1984 shortly after detention), Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Junior, and Kwesi Pratt Junior.

 “The culture of silence does not announce itself with a decree,” Afenyo-Markin warned. “It arrives exactly like this—incrementally and surgically. A communicator arrested here, an organiser picked up there, a regional chairman remanded into security custody.”

Afenyo-Markin noted that President Kufuor repealed criminal libel “to set Ghana free.” Then he delivered the accusation: “President Mahama is rebuilding it, brick by brick, to cage the opposition. That project ends here.”

A direct appeal to the judiciary: Don’t become instruments of power

Addressing the judiciary directly, Afenyo-Markin acknowledged “the climate in which our judiciary is operating,” citing the removal proceedings against the Chief Justice as evidence of an executive branch willing to “defile our Constitution.”

“I am aware that some members of our judiciary may be afraid. They look at what was done to the Chief Justice and ask themselves whether standing up for the Constitution is worth the personal cost. I understand that fear. But I will not pretend it is acceptable,” he said.

But he insisted that fear is no excuse.

“A judge who surrenders to fear and becomes a timorous soul, too intimidated to defend the Constitution and the rights it protects, is no longer a judge. He has become an instrument of the powerful.”

He called upon the High Court to take “urgent cognisance” of Abronye DC’s detention and the missing remand order, reminding the judiciary that the writ of habeas corpus “exists for exactly this kind of moment.”

Afenyo-Markin issued five sweeping demands.

First, he called for the immediate and unconditional release of Abronye DC from BNI custody. Second, he insisted on a full constitutional challenge to Sections 207 and 208 of Act 29, specifically as they apply to political speech.

Third, he demanded that Parliament summon the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of the BNI to account for their decisions in this matter.

Fourth, he appealed to civil society, independent media, and the legal profession to add their voices in defence of freedom. Finally, he urged the High Court to take urgent cognisance of the detention and the missing remand order.

He concluded with a stark warning to the Mahama administration:

“Ghana did not travel the long and painful road from authoritarian rule to constitutional democracy so that a new generation of rulers could quietly dismantle it, one prosecution at a time.”

“To those in this government who believe they can abuse power without consequence, I say this clearly: the day of justice and accountability will come. It will come under this Parliament, or the next. But it will come.”

“The culture of silence is not coming back to Ghana. Not now. Not on our watch. Not ever.”