Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has suddenly discovered the language of civil liberties. The same man who sat comfortably in the highest corridors of power while citizens were arrested, intimidated, detained, and silenced now wants Ghanaians to believe he is the new apostle of democracy. The irony is not just loud; it is deafening.

Today, he calls the arrest and detention of some NPP members “political witch-hunting” and an “attack on free speech.” Today, he warns against selective justice. Today, he lectures the nation about abuse of power. But where was this trembling passion for democracy when others suffered under the watch of the government he proudly served?

Where was Bawumia’s outrage when the Muntie 3 were jailed amidst intense political drama and pressure? The Supreme Court found the trio (and the station owners) in contempt for scandalising the court, sentencing them to four months imprisonment and a GH¢10,000 fine.

Where was his voice when journalist Bobbie Ansah was arrested and subjected to humiliating treatment? Where was this sudden concern for free speech when Oliver Barker-Vormawor was detained over a social media post? Where was his moral clarity when Democracy Hub protesters and Occupy Julorbi House demonstrators were rounded up, detained, and treated like enemies of the state for daring to demand accountability? The list goes on and on.

Not the silence of ignorance, but the silence of convenience. The silence of power protecting itself. The silence of men who only discover injustice when the heat finally reaches their own skin.

Bawumia cannot pretend to be an innocent bystander in Ghana’s recent history of political intimidation. He was not a struggling activist on the sidelines. He was Vice President. He chaired key security meetings. He sat at the very heart of government power. If democracy was truly under attack then, he had both the platform and authority to speak. Yet he chose political comfort over principle.

Now that some members of his own political tradition are tasting the bitter medicine ordinary citizens swallowed for years, suddenly the alarm bells are ringing. Suddenly, democracy is collapsing. Suddenly, Ghana is becoming intolerant. It is difficult not to laugh at the spectacular hypocrisy unfolding before us.

This is the tragedy of Ghanaian politics: many politicians do not oppose injustice because it is wrong. They oppose it only when it inconveniences them. Their commitment is not to justice but to political survival. When their opponents suffer, they justify it. When their supporters suffer, they cry dictatorship.

The same people who mocked concerns about shrinking civic space are now accusing the judiciary and security agencies of bias because the wheel has turned. The same political actors who defended heavy-handed state action yesterday now demand restraint today. Apparently, oppression only becomes oppression when it knocks on the NPP’s door.

But democracy does not work that way.

A nation governed by principle cannot operate on partisan morality. Wrong is wrong, whether the victim wears NPP colors, NDC colors, or no political colors at all. The law cannot become elastic depending on whose ox is being gored. If inappropriate conduct occurs, the institutions of state must act within the boundaries of fairness, due process, and justice, regardless of party affiliation. Political membership must never become immunity from accountability.

That is why the current outrage from some corners of the NPP feels deeply dishonest. They are not condemning abuse because they suddenly love civil liberties. They are condemning it because, for once, they are uncomfortable.

I said this in 2024 in my article titled “The Silence of Injustice as the Truth Fades,” published on MyJoyOnline during the detention of Democracy Hub demonstrators. I wrote: “Injustice affects us all, directly or indirectly. We can’t afford to be indifferent, thinking ‘it’s none of my business.’ Today’s silence ensures tomorrow’s isolation. When we don’t stand up for others, who will stand up for us?”

That warning remains painfully relevant today.

The real defenders of democracy are not those who suddenly find their voices in opposition. They are those who speak consistently, regardless of political convenience. They are those who condemn injustice even when committed by their own side. Integrity is tested not when your enemies are targeted, but when your allies are.

Ghanaians are tired of selective outrage. Tired of politicians weaponising democratic language only when they lose power. Tired of leaders who mistake hypocrisy for statesmanship.

Dr. Bawumia and others like him should spare us the dramatic sermons about democracy. A man who watched injustice in silence cannot suddenly crown himself the guardian of justice because the political tables have turned.

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Evans Mawunyo Tsikata: The silence of injustice as the truth fades