The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has petitioned members of the diplomatic community in Ghana, raising concerns over what it describes as increasing political persecution and democratic backsliding under President John Mahama’s administration.
In the petition issued on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, the party accused the government of using state institutions to target political opponents, journalists, activists, and social media commentators who criticise the administration.
The petition was jointly signed by NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong and Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who warned that Ghana’s democratic credentials were being undermined.
According to the NPP, the country is gradually slipping into what it called a “culture of silence,” where fear, intimidation, and politically motivated prosecutions are allegedly being used to suppress dissenting voices.
“The Ghanaian people are increasingly witnessing a deliberate and systematic weaponisation of state institutions against political opponents, journalists, social media commentators, and dissenting voices,” parts of the petition stated.
The party also argued that the current administration is indirectly reviving criminal libel through the application of Sections 207 and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, despite the repeal of Ghana’s Criminal Libel and Seditious Laws in 2001 during the presidency of John Agyekum Kufuor.
According to the petition, opposition communicators, journalists, activists, Facebook users, and TikTok creators are increasingly being arrested, detained, and prosecuted over comments deemed critical of government officials or state institutions.
“The state’s response to political criticism has shifted from democratic engagement to criminal prosecution,” the party claimed.
The NPP referenced the recent arrest and prosecution of its Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC, over comments he allegedly made about the judiciary.
The party maintained that criticism of public officials, including members of the judiciary, should not be treated as a criminal offence in a constitutional democracy.
The petition further accused state security agencies, including the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), and the Ghana Police Service, of carrying out politically motivated arrests and intimidation.
It alleged that some opposition figures have faced “Rambo-style arrests, midnight raids, dawn invasions of private residences, and prolonged detentions under onerous and punitive bail conditions.”
The NPP also expressed concern over the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, arguing that the development has raised fears about judicial independence.
According to the party, there is growing public perception that judges who deliver rulings unfavourable to the Executive risk professional victimisation or political retaliation.
The party is therefore calling on the diplomatic community, development partners, and international human rights organisations to closely monitor Ghana’s democratic space and publicly reaffirm support for freedom of expression, judicial independence, due process, and political pluralism.
