The Director of Communications for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has slammed President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to clear multiple members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of legal charges.
Ahiagbah described the move as “democratically regressive” and a threat to Ghana’s judicial independence.
“There’s something democratically regressive about H.E. John Dramani Mahama’s clearing of all these members of the NDC. It rubbishes the judiciary and diminishes the quality of our democracy,” Ahiagbah stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter),
According to him, the President’s actions set a dangerous precedent, signaling to current and future government appointees that they can evade accountability if their party returns to power.
“These actions by President Mahama may signal to present and future appointees to be reckless because a means to escape accountability exists in a nolle prosequi; all one has to do is find creatively legal ways to stymie prosecutorial processes long enough for one’s political party to win an election, and all charges or cases will be quashed with a simple uncontestable nolle prosequi,” he warned.
Ahiagbah also expressed disappointment at what he described as the silence of key institutions, including civil society organizations, the Ghana Bar Association, and the judiciary.
“This is terrible and particularly sad because civil society is quiet, the Ghana Bar Association is quiet, the judiciary is quiet, etc. This silence is not only deafening but also dizzying,” he lamented.
President, he argued, might extend his “clearing agenda” to include the release of convicted NDC-affiliated individuals from prison.
“Fellow Ghanaians, the next step in the John Mahama Administration’s ‘clearing’ agenda may be to issue orders to release convicted and imprisoned individuals affiliated with the NDC. Just wait and see,” he cautioned.
Ahiagbah called on democracy advocates, including the Democracy Hub, to speak out. “Where is the Democracy Hub? Or is there nothing wrong with the clearings?” he questioned.
The NPP Director of Communications’ remarks come amid growing political debate over the use of nolle prosequi, a legal instrument that allows the government to discontinue prosecutions.
While Mahama’s administration has defended the move as a necessary correction of politically motivated cases, critics argue it undermines the rule of law.
By Osumanu Al-Hassan/thenewsbulletin24.com