Founder and Executive Chairman of the Africa Prosperity Network, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has thrown his support behind Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin following the latter’s controversial remarks about a Circuit Court judge presiding over the case of NPP Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC.
Afenyo-Markin has come under criticism after publicly challenging the judge’s conduct and declaring that he would no longer recognise him, citing what he described as a wrongful application of the law. The comments were made after Abronye DC was remanded over allegations of offensive conduct likely to cause public peace disturbance and the publication of false statements against a judge.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, May 20, Otchere-Darko argued that the Minority Leader’s intervention was not mere partisan politics but a necessary stand for civil liberties and the proper administration of justice.
“Protecting human rights and guarding the dignity of our legal system requires men and women of courage, conviction, and patriotic verve. That is why I doff my hat to Alexander Afenyo-Markin for taking on the judge who displayed such troubling zeal in endorsing the imprisonment of free speech,” he wrote.
Otchere-Darko warned that the issue has wider implications beyond the current case.
“Today, it may be a political activist. Tomorrow it could be the journalist, the radio commentator, the student, the taxi driver, or the ordinary young Ghanaian with a smartphone and an opinion,” he added.
He emphasised the need for balance in the application of the law, stating:
“Let the law deal firmly with those who fall foul of it. But let it never do so by compromising the protection of fundamental human rights, due process, and the freedoms that hold our democracy together. Justice must be done and seen to be manifestly done.”