IMANI Africa Vice President Kofi Bentil has added his voice to a growing national debate over Ghana’s false publication and electronic communication laws, declaring key provisions unconstitutional and warning that the deployment of state power against citizens for online speech represents a threat to democratic development.
Speaking on KeyPoints on May 23, Bentil questioned the legal basis of prosecutions under Section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and Section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775), the two laws at the centre of multiple high-profile arrests over the past year.
His commentary lands against a backdrop of documented prosecutions. The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has condemned what it describes as the increasing weaponisation of both laws to criminalise speech in Ghana, listing multiple arrests in 2025 and 2026 involving politicians, bloggers, TikTok content creators, pastors and media personalities charged with false publication offences.
A Supreme Court challenge filed this month by citizen Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers seeks to strike down portions of both laws, arguing that Section 208(1) of Act 29 is “vague, overly broad, and imposes unjustifiable restrictions” on freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution.
Bentil raised a specific question about digital communication that legal scholars say remains unresolved under Ghanaian law: whether sharing content within a private WhatsApp group constitutes “publication” sufficient to trigger criminal liability. “For instance, when you do it within a WhatsApp group, have you published it?” he asked, suggesting the law’s application to private digital spaces lacks constitutional grounding.
He argued that anyone aggrieved by speech should pursue civil remedies rather than criminal prosecution. “If somebody insults me and says all kinds of things, I will sue the person,” he said, adding that “the powers of the state must not be deployed against citizens simply for what they say.”
The political dimension of Bentil’s intervention is pointed. The MFWA has noted that President Mahama himself, while in opposition, described the “growing criminalisation of speech and journalism in Ghana” as “a dangerous blueprint” in a 2022 open letter to former President Akufo-Addo, and that the NDC’s 2024 manifesto pledged to repeal laws considered restrictive to press freedom.
Bentil directly challenged the President to act on those commitments. “I personally do not think President Mahama necessarily supports these actions, but he is failing to rein it in,” he said, calling for stronger discipline within the executive to prevent the abuse of speech-related laws by officials acting in the administration’s name.
The case of NPP Bono Regional Chairman Abronye DC, who as of May 2026 faces charges under the false news provisions including criticism of a judge, has drawn strong reaction from the Minority, with Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin describing the prosecution as political persecution.
Bentil acknowledged that freedom of expression is not absolute but insisted that any restrictions must stay within the limits clearly defined by the Constitution. “Freedom of speech is not for nice language,” he said, warning that suppressing public discourse would stifle innovation, creativity and democratic progress.
