Okudzeto Ablakwa slams government for abuse of power
He laments recent arrest of government critics
North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has stated that he will under no circumstances support an overthrow of any government.
He, however, cautions the current administration against what he calls the abuse of power. His comments are relative to a recent spate of arrests of persons known to be critical of government.
Ablakwa cited several reasons to buttress his point that the government was using the security agencies in what looked like a witch hunt because normal processes and laws were being abused by the state, which development could fuel discontent.
“As a democrat, I will be the last person to call for an insurrection or a coup or whatever terminology you want to call it. I don’t want a disruption,” he said on the February 11, 2022 edition of Good Morning Ghana programme.
He added that the political class are always the first to suffer in the case of a coup. “In any case, we sitting here (referring to fellow panelist MP Andrew Egyapa Mercer), we will be the first victims. Parliament is always the first institution to be dissolved.
“All of us, these coup makers will not see us as different. They will lump all of us together as political class. Check Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea. All the political class were placed under house arrest, rounded up.
“So, nobody will be spared. So, I don’t want a coup but let’s stop the abuse of power,” he concluded.
A number of government critics have had a harsh last few days, from those in the media to activists - who serially lash out at the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government.
One sentenced to jail, two others arrested and charged to court, and the fourth; picked up and being held pending arraignment on Monday, February 14, 2022.
The wave of arrests and prosecution has triggered concerns about the way and manner in which government is going after critics with criminal processes in instances that some politicians, civil society groups and social commentators aver that civil processes should suffice.
1 - Godsbrain Blessed Smart, the host of Onua TV’s Maakye program, was in December 2021 arrested for calling for a revolution in the country while decrying the rate of corruption and decadence in governance.
2 – A Radio XYZ presenter, Oheneba Boamah Bennie was last week jailed two weeks for contempt for statements he allegedly made against Supreme Court judges after the 2020 elections.
3 - Mensah Thompson, Executive Director of ASEPA, a think tank, charged with publication of false news by a Circuit Court in Accra and was subsequently admitted to bail of GHC50,000 with two sureties.
4 - Kwabena Bobie Ansah of Accra FM arrested on Thursday, February 10 for making untrue allegations against the First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, and wife of the Vice President, Samira Bawumia.
5 - Police confirm arrest of Oliver Barker-Vormawor, an activist and convener with the #FixTheCountry Movement, for threatening a coup in a Facebook post.
Mahama reacts to recent arrest of journalists
In an open letter to President Akufo-Addo, former President John Dramani Mahama lamented what he said was the criminalization of speech under the current government.
The latter part of his piece which cited some of the above case read: “This is a dangerous blueprint you are fashioning for our dear nation and it must not be encouraged. Your actions as President have totally discredited your self-acquired accolade as a human rights lawyer and activist.
“Ghana has long emerged from the unfortunate past where journalists were cowed by incarceration and brutalization.
“I fear that if you do not take immediate action to arrest this unfortunate trend, when you exit the high office of President in January 2025, freedom of speech and a free media will certainly not be counted as part of the legacy you leave behind.”
Watch his full submission below:
View his Timepath below:
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu