Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has urged the John Mahama administration to adopt a more tolerant approach to offensive public commentary, arguing that arrests should not be used as the primary response to criticism or insults directed at political leaders.
According to Mr Kpebu, although insulting public officials is inappropriate, a democratic government must be prepared to tolerate harsh and sometimes offensive expressions as part of the broader accountability process.
He made the remarks on TV3’s The Key Points on Saturday, August 8, 2026, while commenting on recent arrests involving individuals accused of making insulting remarks about the government.
Mr Kpebu claimed that the number of people arrested over free speech-related matters under President Mahama’s administration in its first one-and-a-half years had already exceeded those recorded during Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s eight years in office.
He described the development as worrying and cautioned the government against taking actions that could gradually erode the goodwill it enjoys.
“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.
Mr Kpebu argued that political leaders have historically been subjected to strong criticism and insults without such comments necessarily resulting in arrests.
He cited instances involving former presidents Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to illustrate his argument that Ghana’s political environment has long accommodated robust and sometimes hostile public commentary.
He recalled that during Akufo-Addo’s administration, then-candidate Mahama used strong language against the former president without being arrested.
Mr Kpebu also referred to comments by former PNC General Secretary Nana Yaa Jantuah and the late Jerry John Rawlings, who, he said, made highly critical remarks about political leaders while they were in office.
He therefore called for alternative approaches to dealing with offensive speech, suggesting measures such as fines or publicly identifying offenders where necessary instead of relying on arrests.
“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 maintained that attempts to silence critics through arrests could ultimately undermine public confidence in the government.
“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.
His comments come amid growing political tensions following the NPP’s “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration held on Thursday, August 6.
The opposition party said the protest was aimed at defending the rule of law, constitutional governance and democratic accountability.
The NPP has also accused the Mahama administration of political persecution, selective justice and the misuse of state institutions. The government, however, has rejected the allegations.
