Chief Policy Analyst at the GIPO, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, has emphasised that the recent application of Sections 207 and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act by the police, is problematic.

His comment is in reaction to the arrest of some journalists and social/political activists who were charged with offensive conduct and publication of false news, based on the provisions of the Criminal Code.

According to Dr. Wereko-Brobby, who has been a keen advocate of free speech, this development, if not checked, is likely to stifle free speech and further lead to the abuse of power by authorities.

“The problem that I have is not so much the law, as the way which those who are supposed to apply the law behave. It's the way which sometimes they try to do what I call 'I'll show you where the power lies punishment' even before culpability has been established,” he said.

Following the arrests, there have been suggestions that these laws should be repealed to prevent the abuse of power by authorities since they are being used as grounds to infringe on the right to free speech inscribed in the Constitution.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show, on Monday, February 20, 2022, however, Dr. Wereko-Brobby contended that the problem is not with the law as much as it is with how it is being applied.

He added that if the law is repealed, “the Police will have so much power to misbehave and arrest people, particularly because they think the person has not been fair to them, then we are not really pushing free speech."

Citing the instances of arrests of the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Kwame Baffoe, also known as Abronye DC, and the Accra FM presenter, Kwabena Bobie Ansah, who was arrested after his programme in the evening, he said this rambo-style arrest is problematic, thus should cease.

Abronye DC was arrested and charged for publication of false news and offensive conduct over claims that former President John Mahama is plotting a coup, which eventually turned out not to be true.

Reacting to the arrest, Dr. Wereko-Brobby found Abronye DC's detention by the Police problematic, explaining that “Mr. Abronye was asked to come at a certain time. He showed up way, ahead of time, he gave a statement, and then inexplicably, he was held overnight.

"That, I thought is an abuse of the process, because he honoured the invitation, he gave a statement but according to him on somebody's instructions, he was held overnight.

"That I think is the kind of behavior, that I think should not be tolerated and wherever we find this, I'll be more interested in making sure that the requirement of Article 298, put down how discretionary powers should be exercised, should be adhered to, so that how Police invite people to interrogate them, the powers to detain them, etc.

“It's the abuse of process that I'm more worried about, because what this will actually do is to create an environment in which people are scared to do honest investigations or hold power to account because they feel the minute they err, they are going to be treated like criminals,” he added.

“It should be very well spelled out so that we don’t have kind of ‘Hitlerised’ behaviour by certain people who think they are the law,” he said.