Accra came to a standstill today as thousands of Ghanaians, including NPP supporters, civil society activists and members of some opposition political parties, marched through the capital in a massive demonstration dubbed “Democracy Under Attack”.

But the demonstration was not just about court cases and arrests.

At the core of the protest was a warning that Ghana’s democracy itself is being chipped away through selective prosecutions and what the demonstrators described as the arbitrary arrest of citizens who speak against the government.

The demonstrators pointed to two major trends since the NDC took office.

First, they criticised the justice system and slammed the Mahama government for discontinuing several corruption and financial crime cases against former NDC appointees, while allegedly “under the guise of fighting corruption” “persecuting” former NPP officials.

Second, the demonstrators raised concerns that the government was taking the country back to the dark days of the “culture of silence”.

Leaders of the NPP, who turned up in their numbers alongside thousands of party supporters, highlighted alleged arrests and harassment of journalists, activists and ordinary citizens who have criticised government policies on social media, radio and at public events.

“This administration inherited a justice system and chose to make it a bat. They use it to beat opponents and shield allies,” one speaker told the crowd.

“That is not democracy, that is selective tyranny, and this demonstration is our refusal to accept a two-tier system of law.”

Speakers said the goal was not accountability but intimidation.

“We support accountability. But when you drop cases against your own ministers and then hunt down opponents with the same courts, that's not justice; that's political warfare,” one of the demonstrators said.

“And when you arrest a citizen for posting a comment, for speaking on radio, for asking questions – that is not security. That is fear.”

The demonstrators also used placards to communicate their concerns.

One read: “Ghana's courts are becoming the opposition's prosecutor.”

“The NDC wants accountability, but only for the other side,” read another.

Leaders of the NPP, including the Minority Leader, said the Mahama government had deployed selective justice and arbitrary arrests together to create a chilling effect.

“If corruption is a crime, prosecute everyone – including your own. If it's not, prosecute no one. But you cannot do both based on party colours,” another placard read.

“They dropped their own cases and revived ours – justice is now a political stopwatch.”

The NPP leadership, party supporters, the PNP and other citizens who joined the massive march sent a clear message to the Mahama government that Ghana’s democracy was built on two pillars: equal justice and freedom of expression.

They argued that by using the courts against opponents and the police against critics, the government was attacking both principles.

“They didn't break the cycle of corruption – they just changed who gets prosecuted. And now they want to break the cycle of dissent too.”

“You can't claim to fight corruption when you give your own side a get-out-of-jail-free card. And you can't claim to defend democracy when you jail people for their opinions.”