Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has expressed concern over the reported arrest and remand of a Techiman-based nurse and mother of three, Salomey Bafor Awiti, by national intelligence officers.
According to Dr Bawumia, the nurse was allegedly picked up in the middle of the night and has been remanded for two weeks on suspicion of abetting the publication of false news.
In a statement, Dr Bawumia described the development as worrying and said it was inconsistent with the kind of Ghana the country should seek to build.
“This is not the Ghana we want to build.”
He said intelligence agencies should not be used to pursue citizens over insults directed at the President or other public officials.
“I can assure Ghanaians that when given the opportunity, our intelligence agencies will not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or anyone else.”
Dr Bawumia reiterated his opposition to insults in political discourse, urging actors within the political space to remain respectful and decorous.
“I have always disavowed a politics of insults and will remind all in the political space of the need to be decorous.”
He said national transformation should be driven by constructive ideas rather than insults.
“The ideas we need to transform our nation won’t come from insults.”
However, Dr Bawumia cautioned the government against actions he believes could undermine freedom of expression, stressing that the right to free speech remains fundamental to Ghana’s democracy.
“But I also remind the NDC government that any infringement on the right to free speech pushes our democracy backwards.”
He added that although free speech could sometimes be “unpalatable,” it remains a critical foundation of democratic governance.
Dr Bawumia also raised concerns about what he described as the selective application of laws, arguing that some individuals appear to face different consequences for similar conduct.
“Even more worrying, is the government’s continuous selective applications of our laws. Some citizens can insult and walk freely and others are jailed because the government doesn’t like the target of their insults.”
He consequently called for the release of Salomey Bafor Awiti and others he said had been similarly charged and jailed.
“Please release Salomey Bafor Awiti and others who have been similarly charged and jailed.”
Dr Bawumia ended his statement with a prayer for Ghana and a call to resist oppression.
“God bless our homeland Ghana and help us to resist oppressors’ rule!”
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