Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader in Parliament, has accused the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of benefiting from politics of insult while in opposition but now treating similar conduct as a criminal offence.
According to Afenyo- Markin, he does not support or defend the use of insults and personal attacks in political discourse.
The Minority leader argued that political discussions should rather be anchored on intellectual rigour, mutual respect and policy alternatives.
Afenyo-Markin accused the NDC government of applying a different standard to political commentary, particularly when similar rhetoric is directed at the government, arguing that the NDC, while in opposition, benefited politically from a style of political communication that included strong and harsh rhetoric that contributed to the party’s return to power.
Speaking at the National Emerging Leaders Economic Forum (NELEF) 2026 at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Auditorium, Afenyo-Markin stated, “I do not, nor will I ever, defend the politics of insults and personal abuse. I believe public discourse must be anchored on intellectual rigour, mutual respect and policy alternatives”.
“However, if there’s any government in Ghana’s Fourth Republic that has benefited from the politics of insult, it is this current NDC government. They built the entire platform on it. It helped carry them back into office, and now, having ridden that wave to power, the very same conduct aimed the other way is being treated as a crime,” Afenyo-Markin added.
“The deliberate weaponisation of Section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act, 775 of 2008, and Sections 207 and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, 29, to silence political opponents or criminalise political commentary is an affront to the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and expression and to the democratic principles upon which our republic is founded,” he added.
In related news, 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!”
Watch the video below:
"I do not, I repeat, I do not, nor will I ever defend the politics of insult and personal abuse. I believe public discourse must be anchored on intellectual rigour, mutual respect and policy alternatives."
— DEK360Ghana🇬🇭 (@Dek360Ghana) September 21, 2026
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin says he does not support politics… pic.twitter.com/JJ5AOs9Q2x
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