Dr Callistus Mahama, the Secretary to the President, has revealed that his boss, President John Dramani Mahama, is concerned about the arrest of people over politically charged commentary.
TV3 report on September 23, 2026, detailed that Dr Callistus Mahama indicated that President Mahama is of the view that the arrests, which he describes as “disproportionate” and regressive.
According to Dr Callistus Mahama, President Mahama thinks the arrests are not only undermining public confidence in state institutions but are also making undeserving people martyrs.
The Secretary to the President is quoted as having said, “The President is particularly concerned that disproportionate arrests over mere criticism or politically charged commentary may be counterproductive, create undeserving martyrs, and undermine public confidence in state institutions”.
Dr Callistus Mahama’s comments come on the back of recent arrests of persons who have been accused by security officials of inciting the public.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has called out President John Mahama, accusing his administration of applying selective justice.
The NPP flagbearer argued that some citizens who insult public officials are allowed to walk free while others are jailed.
According to Dr Bawumia, the difference in how such cases are handled appears to depend on the target of the alleged insults.
He further called for the immediate release of Salomey Bafor Awiti, a nurse and mother of three who has been remanded in prison custody.
The NPP Flagbearer condemned the arrest and remand of the nurse, describing the situation as worrying that the nurse was picked up in the middle of the night by national intelligence officers and subsequently remanded for two weeks.
The NPP flagbearer said he has consistently opposed the use of insults in political discourse and urged political actors and citizens to engage one another respectfully.
He also raised concerns about what he described as the selective application of laws, arguing that similar conduct by different individuals should attract equal treatment.
Dr Bawumia disclosed that when allowed to lead Ghana, intelligence agencies will not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or anyone.
In a social media post on Friday, September 18, Bawumia wrote, “The story of how a Techiman-based nurse and mother of 3 (including a 4-year-old), Salomey Bafoh Awiti, was picked up in the middle of the night by national intelligence officers and has been remanded for two weeks on suspicion that she is abetting the publication of false news is very worrying to read.
This is not the Ghana we want to build. I can assure Ghanaians that when given the opportunity, our intelligence agencies will not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or anyone else.
I have always disavowed a politics of insults and will remind all in the political space of the need to be decorous. The ideas we need to transform our nation won’t come from insults. But I also remind the NDC government that any infringement on the right to free speech pushes our democracy backwards. Free speech, as unpalatable as it may be sometimes, is the foundation of our democracy.
Even more worrying is the government’s continuous selective application of our laws. Some citizens can insult and walk freely, and others are jailed because the government doesn’t like the target of their insults.
Please release Salomey Bafoh Awiti and others who have been similarly charged and jailed.
God bless our homeland Ghana and help us to resist oppressors’ rule!”
Secretary to the President, Dr. Callistus Mahama, has revealed that the President is particularly concerned that disproportionate arrests over mere criticism or politically charged commentary may be counterproductive, create undeserving martyrs, and undermine public confidence in… pic.twitter.com/gVg0jD0Ex1
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) September 23, 2026
@ghnow_ EOCO Officials Attempt to Arrest Lawyer Nana Adjei Baffour Awuah at Accra High Court #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Watch as EOCO officials reportedly attempt to arrest lawyer Nana Adjei Baffour Awuah, counsel for Nurse Salomey Bafor Awiti, at the Accra High Court. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
