Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has criticised the arrest of people over alleged insults directed at the government or public officials, warning that such actions could ultimately hurt the administration.
Mr Dafeamekpor said while insults against public officials were unfortunate and should not be encouraged, they did not pose a threat to the government and should not automatically lead to arrests.
He said repeated arrests over people’s utterances could create the impression that the government was suppressing dissent, particularly amid accusations by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) of political persecution and abuse of state institutions.
Speaking on TV3’s The Key Points on Saturday, August 8, Mr Dafeamekpor said the government should focus on delivering its mandate rather than allowing arrests over political comments to become a source of controversy.
“I am upset by some of these arrests; it hurts the government. Sometimes government doesn’t even sanction them; it’s the police.
“I think that as government, we must pay attention to some of these things; it doesn’t help. These things don’t detract from the government in any way, so they should allow the people to speak. Let’s focus on our mandate and deliver. As a government, we don’t want this at all. Arresting people and confining them, it doesn’t help us. That is my disclaimer,” he said.
Mr Dafeamekpor urged the government to be mindful of the broader implications of arrests arising from people’s utterances, stressing that such actions could undermine rather than protect the administration.
His comments follow the NPP’s “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration on Thursday, August 6. The party said the protest was aimed at defending the rule of law, constitutional governance and democratic accountability.
The NPP has accused the government of political persecution, selective justice and abuse of state institutions, allegations the government has rejected.
