Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has criticised what he describes as the increasing arrest of individuals over comments deemed insulting or offensive to public officials, claiming the Mahama administration has recorded more such arrests in its first 18 months than the previous Akufo-Addo government did in eight years.

He described the situation as a poor record for President John Dramani Mahama and urged the government to reconsider the use of arrests in dealing with offensive public commentary.

Mr Kpebu acknowledged that insulting public officials was inappropriate but argued that arrests were not the solution.

“For one and a half years, this current government has arrested more people on matters of free speech than Akufo-Addo’s eight years. It is a bad record for John Mahama; they should be careful. Mahama should pay attention,” he said while speaking on TV3.

According to him, allowing such arrests to continue could gradually erode the goodwill enjoyed by the government.

“These things start small; before he realises, all the goodwill is gone. Let the people talk. During Akufo-Addo’s tenure, Mahama called him and others ‘Akyem sakawa mafia’; who arrested him?” he asked.

Mr Kpebu argued that Ghana’s democratic history was replete with instances where politicians and other public figures made harsh or offensive remarks about those in power without facing arrest.

“We said Akufo-Addo was stone-deaf; ‘mampam’, did he arrest me? Nana Yaa Jantuah called Akufo-Addo Nebuchadnezzar; she popularised it. Allow Ghanaians to talk,” he said.

He also cited the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, who he said made strong accusations against former President John Agyekum Kufuor while he was in office without being arrested.

“Late President Jerry John Rawlings called former President J.A. Kufuor, while in office, a thief. He didn’t arrest J.J. You can’t shut people down by arrests. I think the government should sit up. As for the insult, there is nothing you can do; it’s part of accountability,” he stressed.

Mr Kpebu suggested that the country should instead have a broader conversation about alternative ways of responding to offensive public commentary without resorting to arrest.

He proposed measures such as fines or public naming and shaming, where appropriate, arguing that attempting to arrest everyone who makes insulting remarks would be neither practical nor desirable in a democracy.

His comments come amid renewed debate over free speech and the use of state institutions following the opposition New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration on Thursday, August 6.

The NPP organised the protest to raise concerns over what it describes as threats to the rule of law, constitutional governance and democratic accountability.

The party has accused the government of political persecution, selective justice and the misuse of state institutions against opponents and critics, allegations the government has rejected.