Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has expressed disappointment with the administration of President John Dramani Mahama, alleging that freedom of speech is being compromised under the current government.

Speaking in an interview on TV3 on August 8, 2026, Kpebu claimed that President Mahama's one and a half years in office have seen more arrests than were made during former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s eight years in government.

According to him, although insulting public officials is not the right thing to do, arresting people for their comments is not the best approach because it could lead to the criminalisation of free expression.

“It is a bad record for JM. In eight years, the number of people Akufo-Addo arrested is not up to the number JM has arrested in one and a half years.

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“We said Akufo-Addo was ‘mampam’; did he arrest me? Nana Yaa called Akufo-Addo Nebuchadnezzar; was she arrested? Allow Ghanaians to talk.

“As for the insults, there is little you can do about them. It is part of the accountability process. Jerry Rawlings called Kufuor, a sitting president, a thief. Did Kufuor arrest JJ? You can't silence people through arrests,” he said.

Kpebu made the remarks while discussing the “Democracy Under Threat” demonstration organised by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).


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