Ghana’s culture of political insults cannot make every offensive statement a crime – Barker-Vormawor
by Gabs · MyNewsGh.comLegal practitioner and anti-corruption campaigner Oliver Barker-Vormawor has called for a clearer distinction between offensive political speech and statements that genuinely cross the threshold into criminal conduct.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Barker-Vormawor said he found some of the insults associated with Ghana Jollof unpleasant but argued that his opposition to the use of police powers in the case should not be mistaken for support for the content.
“I do not like the content of the speech and the insults that we are seeing being treated,” he said.
“Some of the things, I’m not even consuming that content. So it doesn’t even come to my register until law enforcement acts in this manner. So that’s not content that anybody supports.”
His comments come amid the arrest of Salomey Bafoh Awiti, who has been linked to Ghana Jollof, a social media persona known for attacking President John Dramani Mahama, his wife and other political figures with insults and unsubstantiated claims.
Barker-Vormawor said the question should instead be whether the use of law enforcement powers strikes the right balance.
He argued that some of the material being circulated may be offensive without necessarily meeting the threshold for criminalisation.
“But so many of the videos being branded about where the person is insulting of persons in power, it is horrible to listen to. But they do not meet the threshold,” he said.
He noted that even if Parliament were to expand the scope of criminal speech, there would still be a constitutional debate about whether particular forms of speech should be criminalised.
“Having that conversation in itself is not an invitation for reckless conduct in a society,” he added.
Barker-Vormawor said he considered an alleged claim that a coup was taking place to be different because, in his view, it could meet the legal threshold relating to the publication of false news to cause fear and panic.
“I have said, for instance, that I believe that the ODO claiming that somebody, a coup was happening, meets all the criteria of why the law on the publication of false news to cause fear and panic,” he said.
Source: MyNewsGh.com
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