The presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and former Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has strongly condemned the arrest and continuous detention of a Techiman-based nurse, Salomey Bafoh Awiti.
Madam Awiti, a mother of three, was reportedly picked up during ungodly hours by national intelligence officers and subsequently remanded for two weeks over allegations of abetting the publication of false news.
Reacting to the development in a statement shared on his official Facebook page, Dr Bawumia described the situation as deeply troubling and entirely unacceptable.
“The story of how a Techiman based nurse and mother of 3 (including a 4yr old) Salomey Bafoh Awiti was picked up in the middle of the night by national intelligence officers and has been remanded for two weeks on suspicion that she is abetting the publication of false news is very worrying to read,” he stated.
The NPP flagbearer indicated that such high-handed actions do not reflect the democratic vision of the country, assuring the populace that his future administration would not weaponise state security against ordinary citizens.
“This is not the Ghana we want to build. I can assure Ghanaians that when given the opportunity, our intelligence agencies will not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or anyone else,” he stressed.
While expressing his absolute disapproval of abusive language in public discourse, Dr Bawumia urged political actors and citizens alike to remain civil. He cautioned that “the ideas we need to transform our nation won’t come from insults.”
However, he did not mince words in criticising the current administration for what he perceives as a direct attack on constitutional freedoms.
“But I also remind the NDC government that any infringement on the right to free speech pushes our democracy backwards. Free speech, as unpalatable as it may be sometimes, is the foundation of our democracy,” he added.
Dr Bawumia further raised alarm over what he described as a discriminatory approach to justice in the country.
“Even more worrying, is the government’s continuous selective applications of our laws. Some citizens can insult and walk freely and others are jailed because the government doesn’t like the target of their insults,” he observed.
Concluding his statement, the former Vice President demanded the unconditional freedom of the health worker and all other persons facing similar predicaments.
“Please release Salomey Bafoh Awiti and others who have been similarly charged and jailed,” he appealed, ending with a patriotic charge: “God bless our homeland Ghana and help us to resist oppressors rule!”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
