Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu cited insurrection comments by Captain Smart during a press conference in mid-week.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, taking his turn at the Ministerial Press Briefing at the Ministry of Information in Accra was addressing the role of the press in advancing Ghana’s democracy and COVID-19 response.
He disclosed that Parliament was engaging with relevant stakeholders in seeking to get the media to play its pivotal role and tasked practitioners to play their part rather than become disruptive elements.
“We are a diverse people, yes. But the diversity should yield to unity and the stability of our nation. It should not be as somebody is saying, I am calling for a national insurrection against the government, the soldiers should not sit down.
“Where is this coming from? We should please have a clear vision for the sustenance of the democracy that we have as a nation. So the media should be concerned ultimately about the rejuvenation of the economy,” he stressed.
Journalist Captain Smart was arrested by Police after he made comments about Ghana requiring an insurrection on the December 1, 2021 edition of his radio/TV show, Onua Maakye.
A police statement on the cause of arrest read as follows: "The Nima Divisional Police Command today, Thursday, December 2, 2021, arrested Blessed Godsbrain Smart popularly known as “Captain Smart”, the host of Onua TV/FM morning show in Accra.
"He was arrested following some unsavoury pronouncements that hinge on peace and security. He has been cautioned on the offence of offensive conduct conducive to breaches of the peace as provided under section 207 of the Criminal Act, 1960 (Act 29)," the statement said.
He has since been released on bail.
Smart and his employers, Media General, have also been on a collision course with the National Media Commission, NMC, after they authored two letters calling on the employers to call Captain Smart to order over some of his pronouncements.
Media General also slammed the Police for having developed a penchant for seeking to gag the media with unwarranted arrests.
