By Fuvi Kloku For Sankofaonline | September 18, 2023
Democracy is a delicate social contract bound by the rule of law, mutual respect, and the fundamental right to free expression. As a nation, we must unequivocally condemn unwarranted arrests of citizens by this or any government. The machinery of the state should never be weaponized to stifle dissent or intimidate the populace.
However, freedom of speech is not a license for anarchy. No citizen should be issuing threats against the President or our national leaders. Ghana is fundamentally a nation of deep cultural respect and moral fortitude. We are not a country that endorses insults as a currency of political discourse, nor do decent people resort to obscenities to resolve civil disputes. Constructive criticism builds nations, toxic rhetoric and threats of violence only fracture them.
It is within this context of political discourse that recent comments by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia demand intense scrutiny. Positioning himself as a champion of civil liberties, Bawumia recently declared, “This is not the Ghana we want to build.” He went on to assure Ghanaians that, if given the opportunity, his intelligence agencies would not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or anyone else.
It is a beautiful sentiment, but one entirely devoid of historical self awareness.
Dr. Bawumia suffers from a convenient, and frankly insulting, selective amnesia. He speaks of a utopian tolerance while casually sweeping the brutal realities of his own tenure under the rug. Lest we remind him, the brutalities Ghanaians endured under his watch represent some of the darkest chapters in our recent democratic history. While we do not excuse the shortcomings of today, the claim that he holds the moral high ground on civil liberties is a staggering revision of history.
He has forgotten, far too quickly, that under his watch even the mildest criticisms frequently triggered arbitrary, heavy handed arrests. He has forgotten that opposition radio stations were shut down arbitrarily, silenced without due process, closed simply because they dared to broadcast dissenting voices. He has forgotten the innocent blood spilled when citizens, merely attempting to protect the sanctity of ballot boxes, were shot and killed. He has forgotten the Rambo style invasions of radio and television stations, executed by state operatives without a shred of legal or moral justification, carried out specifically to intimidate journalists and crush opposing viewpoints. He has forgotten the sheer absurdity and abuse of state power when citizens were detained and dragged through a harrowing treason trial for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government of Ghana with nothing more than an “Abotsi knife” and a single pistol.
Has he also forgotten how the sanctity of the judiciary was desecrated when vigilante NPP loyalists violently stormed a Kumasi court to unlawfully free their colleagues? Or how state sponsored terror descended on Ayawaso West Wuogon, where armed men brutally shot and assaulted unarmed opposition voters in broad daylight?
Even his own people were not spared. Dr. Bawumia has seemingly forgotten that the Regional Security Coordinator of the Asante Region, their own appointee, was brutally assaulted and humiliated out of office by the very militant forces his administration enabled.
To govern is to take responsibility for the climate of law and order you create. You cannot preside over an era defined by vigilantism, press suppression, electoral violence, and political intimidation, only to later present yourself as a crusader for civil liberties.
We must hold ourselves to a higher standard of political engagement. Citizens must recognize that insulting and threatening our leaders diminishes our collective dignity and erodes the foundations of our civil society. Simultaneously, the state must act with restraint, relying on the law rather than brute force.
But let no one twist the narrative. While we will fiercely demand accountability and condemn unwarranted arrests today, we will not be lectured by those who normalized state violence. The Ghana we have today, with all its challenges, is undeniably better, safer, and more democratic than the Ghana you presided over, Dr. Bawumia. Ghanaians have not forgotten.
