Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has strongly condemned the detention of Kwame Baffoe, the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) popularly known as Abronye DC, labeling it a profound constitutional wrong.
The legislator asserted that the outspoken politician’s ongoing remand raises serious legal concerns and stands in direct opposition to Ghana’s constitutional safeguards regarding bail and free expression.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, May 17, 2026, Mr. Afenyo-Markin argued that the statutes being applied to deny bail are fundamentally incompatible with supreme law. He stated, “The general tenure of Act 30, as amended, is one such legislation that is inconsistent with the constitution. The general tenor of Act 96, which deals with the grant of bail gives very clear indication that the court has discretion to grant bail to persons appearing before it in criminal cases upon conditions stated therein. The abstention on granting of bail in section 97 is therefore odd, and an unnecessary interference with the court”.
The Minority Leader further criticized the nature of the state’s actions, characterizing the legal proceedings as a targeted campaign rather than a fair administration of justice. According to him: “What has been done to Abronye DC is a profound constitutional wrong, and must be condemned without equivocation, without delay. The arrest itself, the prosecution and remand of a citizen for words spoken in the public domain is not justice, it is prosecution.”
While clarifying that the NPP does not condone reckless commentary, Mr. Afenyo-Markin maintained that Ghana’s legal framework is already equipped with civil mechanisms to address reputational damage without resorting to criminal prosecution.
Emphasizing the party’s stance on accountability and civil remedies, he said, “The party does not condone irresponsible speech. We never did, and we never will. But public discourse carries responsibility and we believe deeply in that. Where speech damages a person’s reputation, Ghanaian law provides a civil remedy for it. It has been designed to achieve one aim, which is to allow the person injured to seek relief,” he said.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
