Social commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has lauded Ghana Police for arresting some persons whose utterances are said to be defamatory.
The Police have, over the days, topped discussions on the airwaves following the arrests of broadcaster Kwabena Bobie Ansah, NPP Bono Regional Chairman Kwame Baffoe who was first invited by the Police and later detained facing court prosecution on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, and the convener of the popular #FixTheCountry protest, Oliver Barker-Vormawor,.
Kwabena Bobie Ansah, a Presenter at Accra FM, was on Thursday, February 10, 2022, arrested for alleging that First and Second Ladies, Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Samira Bawumia have stolen State lands and is charged with offensive conduct.
Mr. Barker-Vormawor was on Friday arrested after making comments on social media about plotting a coup and is also charged with treason felony.
Kwame Baffoe, popularly called 'Abronye DC', is charged him with two counts of publication of false news and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace and expected to appear in court today over his claims that former President John Mahama is involved in a coup plot.
Some critics have argued the government is using the Police to suppress people's freedom of speech and press freedom.
Speaking on the matter during Peace FM's panel discussion programme ''Kokrokoo'', Allotey Jacobs expressed dissenting views stressing what the Police is doing has nothing to do with suppresion of freedom.
He was of a strong view that the Police are rather sanitizing the society, so urged them on to continue their good works.
He believed the Police action will help discourage people from using filthy language and slander on other persons.
''I say the media landscape right now, it is about arrogance, pomposity and foolishness...I don't think it is an attack on press freedom. It is an attack on foolishness, arrogance and pomposity that has to be dealt with. That should bring sanity into our system'', he exclaimed.
Allotey backed the Police stressing ''there should be check and balances'', hence advising those making defamatory statements to desist from it.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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In the UK and other developed democracies, police routinely charge people with abusive behaviour. In Ghana, if Journalists are charged then a small number of people who have a platform to speak starting talking about freedom of speech. This is so sad.
Any Ghanaian who blindly supports the NDC has obviously been misled into believing in the NDC as such. If you listen to certain NDC-MPS, you will understand where I'm coming from with this assertion that something intelligent hardly comes from the NDC. Then, what is the ideological position of the NDC with respect to engaging and ensuring the public their policies which they intend to implement when voted into power to improve their livelihood? Apart from fabricating lies for propagandistic purposes, the NDC essentially has nothing to offer. Certain academic and outspoken Ghanaian personalities appear to have been paid to say what they say. It’s rather unfortunate that an intellectual would subdue his hard-earned intellect to cheap peanuts for self-seeking and incompetent politicians to chew. Threatening a coup for political power comes out of frustration in the political arena of the contest of ideas characterized by a principled ideological position. The NDC, hitherto, has not been able to present a tradition backed by a convincing political ideology. As social democrats, as they claim to be, is belied by their inability to implement social intervention programs. In contrast to the numerous social programs implemented by the NPP-administration, which touts itself as a property-owning democrat. Indeed, the NPP was in charge of all of the country's flagship social programs, such as FSHS, NHIS, and school feeding programs. This massive deficiency cannot be resolved with sheer propaganda, coup-threats, and baseless political polemics.
Another good point by Mr Allotey and Nana Akomea. What these journalists did is not freedom of speech but peddled untruth to make people high positions seen as insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians. Words matter and have caused civil wars in Rwanda etc. These journalists must be prosecuted and thrown in jail if found guilt.They are not journalists at all from my point of view and if they have broken the law, they must pay the price.
I agree with Mr. Allotey Jacobs.