By: Baafi Sarah
The Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has strongly condemned the arrest, prosecution and remand of Kwame Baffoe known as Abronye DCdescribing the development as a “constitutional outrage” and an attack on free speech in Ghana.
In a statement issued on Friday, 15 May 2026, Afenyo-Markin argued that the criminal charges brought against the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) amount to the weaponisation of state power against political opponents.
According to him, Abronye DC’s prosecution over comments made in a social media video criticizing the conduct of a Circuit Court judge undermines constitutional protections for free expression.
“The arrest, prosecution, and remand of a citizen for words spoken in the public square is not the administration of justice. It is the weaponisation of the criminal law against political opinion,” he stated.
Abronye DC was reportedly arraigned before Circuit Court 9 in Accra on May 13, 2026, on charges of offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace and publication of false news under the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
Afenyo-Markin maintained that the charges are weak and constitutionally questionable, insisting that criticism of a public official falls within the protections guaranteed under Article 21 of the 1992 Constitution.
He also criticized the court’s decision to deny Abronye DC bail, describing the ruling as inconsistent with constitutional guarantees of personal liberty and the presumption of innocence.
“The state asked a court to imprison a citizen before any finding of guilt because he might speak again. The court agreed,” he said.
The Minority Leader further questioned the decision to remand the NPP chairman into the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), arguing that the security agency is intended for matters of national security rather than political speech cases.
He accused the government of using Sections 207 and 208 of Act 29 to indirectly revive criminal libel laws, which were repealed in 2001 under the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the current prosecutions of some NPP communicators and officials represent a broader pattern of political intimidation aimed at silencing opposition voices.
He referenced the arrests of NPP figures including David Essandoh and Abubakar Yakubu, popularly known as Baba Amando, claiming the incidents point to what he described as “state-sponsored political persecution.”
The Minority Leader called for the immediate release of Abronye DC and announced that the NPP legal team would challenge the prosecution in court.
He also urged Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee to summon the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of the BNI to account for their actions in the matter.
Afenyo-Markin appealed to civil society organisations, the media and legal practitioners to defend constitutional freedoms and resist what he termed a growing “culture of silence.”
“The freedom to speak, to criticise power, and to hold government accountable is not a privilege granted by any administration. It is a constitutional birthright,” he said.
