Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has defended the Mahama administration’s record on free speech, insisting that no individual has been arrested merely for expressing an opinion under the current government.
Speaking on Face to Face on Channel One TV on Tuesday, May 12, Gbande maintained that freedom of expression remains protected, but cautioned that statements deemed unlawful or capable of destabilising the country should not be tolerated.
“Nobody has been arrested for speaking his mind. If you go and say foolish things, foolish things are not to be tolerated. It’s different from speaking your mind,” he said.
According to him, individuals who make statements that threaten public order or national stability must be prepared to face legal consequences.
“If you go and say things that are nonsensical, things that are unlawful, things that have the danger to affect or destabilize our country, it is not something that we have to say. So you have to face the law,” Gbande stated.
He stressed that the legal framework governing such matters predates the current administration and was not introduced by President John Dramani Mahama.
“That’s not President Mahama’s law. President Mahama didn’t make the law,” he added.
Gbande also commended what he described as an improved democratic atmosphere under the current government, arguing that citizens now feel more comfortable expressing dissenting views and criticising authorities without fear.
“Fifteen months on, the country is very united, two, there is a deepened stake in our democracy in terms of what people do, what they don’t do, what people say, what they don’t say,” he said.
“President Mahama believed that everyone’s opinion matters, and so people should be allowed to voice out. And you can see that we are in an era where you can say, criticise, and be respected, unlike before,” he added.
His comments come in the wake of the arrest and subsequent release of the Agona West Organiser of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), David Essendoh, by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Essendoh was reportedly detained over allegations of false publication linked to a social media post concerning ongoing power outages, popularly referred to as “dumsor.” He was later granted bail after engagements with authorities, while investigations into the matter continue.
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