Bawumia Slams Govt over Arrest of Techiman Nurse Over Alleged False News
The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has condemned the arrest and remand of a Techiman-based nurse, Salomey Bafoh Awiti, describing the development as worrying and a setback to Ghana’s democracy.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Dr Bawumia said the mother of three, including a 4-year-old, was picked up in the middle of the night by national intelligence officers and has been remanded for two weeks on suspicion of abetting the publication of false news.
“This is not the Ghana we want to build,” Dr Bawumia wrote, adding that the incident raises serious concerns about the use of intelligence agencies.
The former Vice President assured Ghanaians that under his leadership, intelligence agencies will not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or any other person.
He stated that while he has always disavowed politics of insults and believes in decorum in the political space, any infringement on the right to free speech pushes Ghana’s democracy backwards.
“Free speech, as unpalatable as it may be sometimes, is the foundation of our democracy,” he said.
Dr Bawumia also accused the NDC government of selective application of the law, arguing that some citizens are allowed to insult and walk freely while others are jailed because the government does not like the target of their insults.
He has therefore called for the immediate release of Salomey Bafoh Awiti and others who have been similarly charged and jailed.
“God bless our homeland Ghana and help us to resist oppressors’ rule!” he added.
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