Physician and political activist, Dr. Arthur Kobina Kennedy, has said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) owes suspended members and the Ghanaian public apologies rather than the recently announced general amnesty.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Monday, August 18, Dr. Kennedy argued that while the amnesty initiative may have been well-intentioned, the party’s real need is reconciliation through accountability.
“I think the intent is good, but the execution was botched. Unity is indispensable to the success of political parties, as history has shown. But I think we owe a lot of people apologies, not just amnesties,” he stated.
He cited former National Chairman Paul Afoko and former General Secretary Kwabena Agyapong as figures who deserved apologies for their treatment by the party.
“We need to apologise to Ghanaians for running the party as if it were a private club that belongs to a few individuals. A party is a public institution and must be run in a way that attracts people,” he added.
Dr. Kennedy also linked the NPP’s 2024 electoral defeat to internal divisions, stressing that leadership must rebuild trust both with its base and the wider electorate.
“In actual fact, the 2024 elections we lost partly because we were divided. Twenty percent of John Mahama’s votes came from old NPP members who never resigned publicly, so they don’t need amnesty. But those votes must be earned back in 2028,” he noted.
He further criticised the amnesty move as inconsistent, recalling that in 2008 the party allowed someone without a membership card to become running mate, while disqualifying other members for not having “developed the party enough.”
According to him, the NPP must make peace not only with suspended members but also with Ghanaians over what he called “bone-headed policies.”
“The same way you suspended and humiliated them, that is the same place you should go and make peace with them. The apologies are important—not only to Afoko and others, but to the people of Ghana, for policies such as spending $100 million on a hole while children still studied under trees and markets remained uncompleted,” he stressed.
On August 16, the NPP announced a general amnesty for all suspended members or those facing disciplinary proceedings as part of efforts to foster unity and reconciliation within the party.
Source: Clara Seshie