Ghana’s politics is on a ‘slippery’ path over criminal prosecutions – Prof Agyeman-Duah

Former UN Senior Governance Advisor, Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has cautioned that Ghana’s democracy may be weakened if political parties perceive every prosecution of their members as an assault on the party as a whole. Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Thursday, August 6, amidst a political debate over the arrest of opposition figures, Prof. Agyeman-Duah said Ghana’s political culture is sliding towards a dangerous path, with partisan concerns often taking priority over accountability.

“Our politics, unfortunately, is on a very slippery slope right now,” he observed. According to him, both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have, over time, habitually defended party members facing criminal investigations or prosecution, making it hard for the public to differentiate between lawful law enforcement and political persecution.

“I am disturbed because it seems to me that for politicians, any attack on one member is an attack on all,” he lamented. He argued that this mentality has muddied discussions on criminal accountability and hampered efforts to tackle corruption and abuse of public office. “If there is a genuine case of corruption or misappropriation of state resources, and there is evidence to support it, the appropriate action is to secure the arrest, follow the required protocols, permit the person to be tried, and deliver the judgment,” he stated.

Prof. Agyeman-Duah emphasized that criminal accusations must be evaluated based on their merits, not through a partisan filter, warning that party efforts to protect their members could erode trust in the judicial system. He noted that worries about uneven justice, high bail conditions, and perceived judicial bias in politically charged cases are not new and have surfaced under every government when politicians have been prosecuted.

While recognizing these governance issues, he maintained that they should not be used to undermine the principle that all citizens, including politicians, are equal under the law. “We are essentially creating the illusion that politicians do no wrong, which is not accurate,” he said. Prof. Agyeman-Duah called on political leaders to permit due process to unfold and to concentrate on fortifying institutions instead of politicising criminal prosecutions, warning that persistent partisan meddling could further erode public trust in democratic governance and the rule of law.