The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has condemned the arrest, prosecution, and remand of Kwame Baffoe, describing the development as a constitutional outrage and a direct assault on free speech and democratic governance in Ghana.
The detention of the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), he said, represents a troubling abuse of state power and an attempt to silence opposition voices.
In a statement issued in Accra on Sunday, May 17, 2026, Mr. Afenyo-Markin stressed that what has been done to Mr. Kwame Baffoe, a.k.a Abronye DC, is a profound constitutional wrong and must be condemned without equivocation and without apology.
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Abronye DC was arraigned before Circuit Court 9 in Accra on May 13, 2026, on two charges: offensive conduct conducive to the breach of the peace and publication of false news under the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
The charges stem from a social media video in which the NPP Bono chairman criticised the conduct and impartiality of a Circuit Court judge.
“Since when did criticising a judge become a criminal offence in Ghana?” Afenyo-Markin asked.
He argued that the comments constitute protected expression under Article 21(1)(a) of the 1992 Constitution and should not attract criminal sanctions.
The Effutu MP also criticised the court’s decision to deny Abronye DC bail.
He condemned prosecutors’ argument that the NPP chairman could commit similar offences if released, and the court accepted that argument.
“A citizen imprisoned not for what he did, but for what he might say. That is not the law. That is censorship from the bench,” he said.
According to him, the decision violates Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution, which guarantee personal liberty and the presumption of innocence.
Afenyo-Markin raised additional concerns over Abronye DC’s remand into the custody of the National Intelligence Bureau (formerly BNI).
He questioned why a political speech case involving misdemeanour charges was treated as a national security matter.
“Mr. Abronye DC posted a critical video about a judge. That is not a national security matter. It never was,” he stated.
The Minority Leader also alleged that four days after the remand order was pronounced, no signed and certified court order had been made available to the defence team.
“On what legal basis did the Ghana Police Service take Mr. Abronye into custody and convey him to the BNI?” he asked.
The Minority leader accused President John Dramani Mahama’s administration of attempting to reintroduce criminal libel through other provisions of the Criminal Offences Act.
He recalled that former President John Agyekum Kufuor repealed Ghana’s criminal libel and seditious laws in 2001 with support from then Attorney General Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“President Kufuor abolished criminal libel to set Ghana free. President Mahama is rebuilding it, brick by brick, to cage the opposition,” he declared.
According to him, Abronye DC’s prosecution is part of a wider pattern of arrests targeting opposition activists and communicators.
He cited the cases of David Essandoh, Baba Amando, Alfred Ababio Kumi (Adenta Kumi), and Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, whom he said have all faced state action over comments made in public.
“These are not isolated incidents. They are selected examples from a deeply troubling and growing list,” he said.
Afenyo-Markin outlined five key demands, including the immediate and unconditional release of Abronye DC, a constitutional challenge to the prosecution, parliamentary scrutiny of the case, and urgent judicial intervention through habeas corpus proceedings.
He warned that the culture of silence will never come back to Ghana under the NPP’s watch.