Renowned Ghanaian visual artist Ibrahim Mahama has announced plans to take legal action following an alleged assault on him and his team by the ‘Black Maria’ police taskforce.

Speaking at a press conference on March 23, 2026, Mahama made it clear that seeking justice through the courts is non-negotiable, stressing that the move goes beyond personal interest.

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“Yes, certainly we are considering legal action. It’s very important. It’s a no-brainer; we have to do it because it’s not for me alone, but for everyone else. If this could happen to me, someone well-known, then what about people on the streets?

“If they go for an operation and they beat someone up and the person dies, who is going to speak for that person? So it’s not for us personally, but we have to do it for the benefit of the collective society that we live in,” he said.

Mahama also revealed the physical and professional toll the alleged assault has taken on him, including the cancellation of multiple international engagements.

“Yesterday evening I was meant to travel to the UK because I had to give lectures at schools, from Cambridge to Oxford, and also to a college in London, and continue to Helsinki for work, Amsterdam, and then South Africa before returning home. But all those trips had to be cancelled,” he disclosed.

According to him, his condition has worsened to the extent that he is unable to travel or even eat properly.

“I don’t think I can travel for the next month because the last few days, I haven’t even eaten solid food. My lips are bruised, three of my teeth are broken, and I have sores in my mouth. The dentists weren’t working over the weekend, so currently my entire life is on hold,” he indicated.

Despite the ordeal, Mahama insisted that his commitment to Ghana remains firm, noting that his decision to stay and work in the country has always been driven by a desire to contribute meaningfully to society.

“The reason we decided to stay in Tamale and in Ghana is that we felt we had something to contribute to this country. If, at the end of the day, through these brutal actions, young people, adults, and people like me are discouraged from staying in a place like this, then it reflects badly on a country that we love and serve,” he stated.

Touching on broader concerns, the artist framed the issue as one of justice, warning that unchecked actions by security operatives could have far-reaching consequences.

“I think it’s all about justice because even in the work I do, the reason I brought work into Tamale was that I wanted to see some kind of cultural justice. Why can’t we redistribute culture to people? Of course, we’ve heard many stories about the same units and the brutalities they’ve carried out… they act as if they can harm people and nothing will happen. So certainly there has to be justice,” he noted.

Mahama further called for decisive action against the taskforce involved, warning that failure to act could lead to similar incidents across the country.

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“They really have to disband the group because it’s not just about them being in Tamale; they could go elsewhere, whether the Volta Region or Ashanti Region, and inflict the same pain and harm on other people, even if it doesn’t escalate to fatalities,” he added.



MAG/MA