Mahama Must Act Against False News Law or He’s Complicit- Manasseh Azure
Investigative journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure has called for the intervention of President John Dramani Mahama in repealing the law on false news publication, which mandates the arrest of promoters of such information.
This has witnessed the arrest of two in the past week.
In his view, this is a clampdown on free speech and does not reflect the position of President John Dramani Mahama.
“This does not mirror the character of President John Dramani Mahama, whose tolerance for free speech is well known.”
He, however, opined that inaction on the part of the President will mean he endorses the law.
“He must act on this, or it means he endorses it. The Attorney-General should take steps to repeal this law, which is being abused and used like the Criminal Libel Law that President Kufuor repealed.”
This is in response to the arrest of Head of Mobilisation at Democracy Hub, Mr Wendell Yeboah, who alleged that the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, and the Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, owned mining concessions and were engaged in illegal mining activities.
His arrest, according to the police, followed a petition for investigation submitted to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) by Mr Daniel Sasu Omari and two others on behalf of the Ashanti, Eastern, and Western regional ministers.
He was arrested on November 26, 2025, to assist in the investigation, a police statement said.
It is the position of Manasseh that the ministers rather seek redress in court if they feel defamed, as he believes the police have no business in this.
“If the ministers feel defamed, they should sue the person who made the false claim. Why is the police involved? They often claim the arrest is to ‘assist investigation’. If that were the case, why did you put him in custody and want to put him before the court? Is that your investigation?”
He opined, “When the complainants are ministers of state, as in this case, we cannot extricate the government from the abuse of the law on publishing false news.”
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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