Accra came to a standstill on Thursday as thousands of Ghanaians including New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters, civil society activists and members of some opposition political parties marched through the capital in a massive demonstration dubbed ‘Democracy Under Attack‘.
But this was not just about court cases and arrests. The core of the protest was a warning: that Ghana’s democracy itself is being chipped away through selective prosecutions and what the demonstrators call the arbitrary arrest of citizens who speak against the government.
The demonstrators pointed to two trends since the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) took office.
First, they cited the justice system, slamming the government for discontinuing several corruption and financial crime cases against former NDC appointees, while the same government, “under the guise of fighting corruption” has been “persecuting” former NPP officials.
Second, the demonstrators raised concerns over how the government is taking the country back to the dark days of culture of silence the nation experienced under the brutal PNDC days.
NPP leaders, who turned up in their numbers alongside thousands of party supporters, highlighted arrest and harassment of journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens who have criticized government policies on social media, radio, and at public events.
“This administration inherited a justice system and chose to make it a bat. They use it to beat opponents and shield allies,” one speaker told the crowd.
“That is not democracy, that is selective tyranny, and this demonstration is our refusal to accept a two-tier system of law.”
Speakers said the goal is not accountability, but intimidation.
“We support accountability. But when you drop cases against your own ministers and then hunt down opponents with the same courts, that’s not justice that’s political warfare,” one of the demonstrators said.
“And when you arrest a citizen for posting a comment, for speaking on radio, for asking questions – that is not security. That is fear.”
The demonstrators, typically, sent messages across through placards.
One read: “Ghana’s courts are becoming the opposition’s prosecutor.”
“The NDC wants accountabilitybut only for the other side,” read another.
Leaders of the NPP, particularly Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, noted that the Mahama government has deployed selective justice and arbitrary arrests together to create a chilling effect.
“If corruption is a crime, prosecute everyone – including your own. If it’s not, prosecute no one. But you cannot do both based on party colours,” more placards read.
“They dropped their own cases and revived ours – justice is now a political stopwatch.”
The NPP leadership, party supporters, the PNP party and other citizens who joined the massive march sent a clear message to the Mahama government that Ghana’s democracy was built on two pillars: equal justice and freedom of expression, adding that by using the courts against opponents and the police against critics, the government is attacking both.
“They didn’t break the cycle of corruption – they just changed who gets prosecuted. And now they want to break the cycle of dissent too.”
“You can’t claim to fight corruption when you give your own side a get-out-of-jail-free card. And you can’t claim to defend democracy when you jail people for their opinions.”