The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has condemned the arrest and remand of nurse and mother of three, Salomey Bafor Awiti, over an alleged case involving the publication of false news.
Bawumia said the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the Techiman-based nurse raise concerns about the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in Ghana.
In a social media post on Friday, September 18, Bawumia said it was worrying that the nurse was picked up in the middle of the night by national intelligence officers and later remanded for two weeks.
“This is not the Ghana we want to build. 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.”
Salomey was reportedly linked to the anonymous “Ghana Jollof” social media account.
A Ghanaian nurse based in London, Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, was later declared wanted after she was identified as the alleged operator of the “Ghana Jollof” account.
Bawumia said he has always opposed the use of insults in political discussions. He also called on politicians and citizens to engage one another respectfully.
“I have always disavowed a politics of insults and will remind all in the political space of the need to be decorous. The ideas we need to transform our nation won’t come from insults. But I also remind the NDC government that any infringement on the right to free speech pushes our democracy backwards. Free speech, as unpalatable as it may be sometimes, is the foundation of our democracy.”
He also questioned what he described as the selective application of the law, saying people who engage in similar conduct should be treated equally regardless of who is the target.
“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.”
