Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has described the handling of offensive political comments by the Mahama-led government as double standards, citing harsh remarks made against former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during his time in office.

According to Kpebu, some people who strongly criticised the previous government are now in a government that is arresting people for allegedly insulting President John Mahama and other officials.

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Speaking on TV3’s The Key Points on August 8, 2026, he specifically pointed to a comment by President Mahama, who, he claims, while in opposition, referred to Akufo-Addo and others as an “Akyem sakawa mafia”.

Kpebu added that despite the strong nature of the comment, Mahama was not arrested over it.

“These things start small, before he realises all the goodwill is gone. Let the people talk. During Akufo-Addo’s tenure, Mahama called him and others ‘Akyem sakawa mafia’, who arrested him?” he asked.

He also mentioned comments made by Presidential Staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah, who allegedly described Akufo-Addo as “Nebuchadnezzar”, but was never arrested by law enforcement.

He further recalled how he himself used strong words against Akufo-Addo without being arrested.

“We said Akufo-Addo was stone-deaf; ‘mampam’ did he arrest me? Nana Yaa Jantuah called Akufo-Addo Nebuchadnezzar; she popularised it, Allow Ghanaians to talk,” he said.

Kpebu also cited the late former President Jerry John Rawlings’ criticism of former President John Agyekum Kufuor as another example of political speech that was not met with arrests.

“Late President Jerry John Rawlings called former President JA Kufuor while in office a thief. He didn't arrest JJ. You can't shut people down by arrests. I think the government should sit up. As for the insult, there is nothing you can do; it's part of accountability,” he cautioned.

It is against this background that Kpebu raised concerns about the number of arrests linked to alleged insults under the current administration.

He claimed that in just one-and-a-half years, the Mahama administration has arrested more people over free speech issues than the Akufo-Addo administration did during its entire eight-year tenure.

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“For one and a half years, this current government has arrested more people on matters of free speech than Akufo-Addo's eight years. It is a bad record for John Mahama; they should be careful. Mahama should pay attention,” he expressed.

Kpebu warned that continuing to arrest people over offensive comments could eventually hurt the government's relationship with the public.

MAG/VPO

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