Former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Suame Municipality, Maxwell Ofosu Boakye, has accused President John Dramani Mahama and the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of applying double standards in their approach to political commentary and freedom of expression.
According to him in an interview on JoyNews's AM show with Samuel Kojo Brace, the Mahama administration and the NDC have historically benefited from a political culture in which individuals employed strong, and sometimes insulting, language against political opponents, yet the same administration is now accused of using state security institutions to clamp down on critics.
Ofosu Boakye made the remarks in reaction to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) recent “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration, which sought to draw attention to what the party describes as threats to freedom of expression, political dissent, and democratic rights under the current administration.
The concerns are not entirely new within the NPP. In April, former Vice President and NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia similarly alleged that Ghana’s democratic credentials were under threat, arguing that freedom of expression was being sacrificed for political convenience. The NPP subsequently organised demonstrations around what it described as a growing “culture of silence” and the alleged weaponisation of state institutions.
Speaking on the issue, Ofosu Boakye argued that the government could not simultaneously benefit from aggressive political commentary when in opposition and seek to suppress similar expressions now that it is in power.
“President Mahama and the NDC are beneficiaries of insults in politics. They themselves perpetrated these insults and further glorified individuals who were doing it,” he said.
He cited US-based Ghanaian political commentator Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor as an example, questioning why the government and its supporters, in his view, have treated Taylor differently from political opponents facing arrest and prosecution.
“Kevin Taylor, is he not your hero? Is he not part of the people that the NDC glorified so much?” Ofosu Boakye asked.
His comments come amid renewed political controversy surrounding Taylor, who has been a prominent and outspoken supporter of the NDC and a fierce critic of the NPP. In May 2026, the NPP publicly demanded that President Mahama and the NDC distance themselves from comments by Taylor directed at former President John Agyekum Kufuor, describing the remarks as unacceptable.
Ofosu Boakye further referenced Taylor’s return to Ghana in 2025, arguing that he was accorded considerable freedom despite his history of highly controversial political commentary.
“When he came to this country, he was given a red carpet treatment, yet you are jailing your political opponents. Kevin Taylor came to Ghana, and nothing happened to him. This gentleman has insulted almost every prominent personality in this country yet you let him go,” he stated.
Taylor’s legal history has itself been the subject of public debate. In 2025, the Supreme Court quashed a previous bench warrant issued against him in connection with a contempt matter, clearing the way for his return to Ghana. His subsequent public appearances generated renewed political debate over his style of commentary and his relationship with Ghana’s partisan political landscape.
The former Suame MCE maintained that the NPP’s position was not a demand for unrestricted or irresponsible speech, but rather a call for the government to protect the democratic space for citizens to criticise public officials and express their views on governance.
He therefore urged the Mahama administration to exercise restraint in the use of state institutions against political opponents and critics.
“The NPP is imploring on the Government to grant Ghanaians space to express our views,” he said.
For the NPP, the growing number of controversies surrounding arrests and alleged intimidation of political actors represents a worrying development for Ghana’s democratic culture. Government supporters, however, have maintained that lawful enforcement of the law should not automatically be characterised as an attack on democracy.
@expert.official2 Mr President, one thing you and your government shouldn't lose sight of is that, Ghanaians reserve the right to resist oppressors rule.
♬ original sound - Maxwell Ofosu Boakye
