Kpebu calls for national dialogue to end political insult culture in Ghana

Martin Kpebu wants Ghana to talk its way out of its political insult problem. The private legal practitioner told Joy FM’s Top Story that arrests and prosecutions will not stop the country’s culture of vitriol. He is calling for a national conversation instead.

“The first thing I’m curious about is that we all want this menace of insults against politicians and other people in society to stop. That culture of vitriol, we want to control the vitriol. It’s getting out of hand,” he said.

The immediate trigger is the “Ghana Jollof” TikTok account. Police allege Barbara Asantewaa Kodua operates it and paid Salomey Awiti Bafoh, a 40-year-old senior nursing officer, to help redistribute content. Bafoh was remanded for two weeks by the Adentan Circuit Court on September 16 after pleading not guilty to abetment of crime, specifically the alleged publication and circulation of false news. She is due back in court on September 30.

Kpebu said the account’s output has been uniquely aggressive. “Ghana Jollof’s vitriol is higher. Nobody has more vitriol than her,” he said. “The moment I saw that her vitriol is higher, the speed at which she launches the insults, the other guys can’t match her, I said no, let’s do a national conversation.”

Kpebu does not exempt himself from the problem. He cited his own use of the word “manpam,” a song by a musician aimed at holding former President Nana Akufo-Addo accountable. “Even me talking to you, for saying Akufo-Addo is ‘manpam,’ which is a song by a musician sung against him to hold him accountable — people say that my hands are also soiled,” he said.

He pointed at President John Dramani Mahama too. Mahama has used the phrase “Akyem mafia” and once said the President jabbed him, Kpebu said. “So it appears we’ve all soiled our hands one way or another. That’s how come I thought that look, this thing is not about handcuffs and police cells and trials. It’s about a national conversation,” he said.

Kpebu said the conversation should let political actors and citizens agree on limits to abusive discourse. “So that when we have the national conversation, we’ll call a truce,” he added.

He said Kodua had previously offered a condition for stopping. “She has stated clearly that if we can rein in Kevin Taylor, she would stop. She said that several times. There was one she even addressed to me,” Kpebu said. Taylor is another prominent commentator.

Legal action against individuals tied to the account will not end the wider phenomenon, Kpebu argued. “Yesterday, whilst we were having radio interviews about Salomey in custody, Ghana Jollof was blasting and blasting even the police. So she’s still out there,” he said.

Kpebu questioned the decision to detain Bafoh. He said investigators could have relied on less restrictive measures, including seizing and examining her phone. The approach has implications for public confidence and democratic freedoms, he said.

The case has drawn political reaction. NPP flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia called the circumstances of Bafoh’s arrest and remand “very worrying” and asked for her release, while saying political insults should not be encouraged. Government Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu said the government can tolerate criticism and insults directed at Mahama but will not ignore statements it considers capable of inciting violence or breaching public order.

Police allege some of the account’s content could cause fear, alarm or violence. Those allegations are part of the ongoing investigation and have not been established by a court.

Kpebu’s proposal is a national dialogue as an alternative to relying primarily on arrests, prosecutions and incarceration. He said the objective should be to confront the culture of political vitriol collectively and establish a more sustainable way of managing disagreements in Ghana’s public discourse.

According to Joy Online.