Ghana’s democracy is under a ‘creeping’ threat – Kofi Bentil warns

Ghanaian democracy faces a silent danger, according to Kofi Bentil, a senior lawyer and Vice-President of IMANI Africa. In an interview with JoyNews' Newsfile, Mr. Bentil warned that democracy could be gradually eroded through the misuse of laws and state institutions, a process that often goes unnoticed until it's too late. This theory was reinforced by his historical reference to how Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini rose to power, initially using democratic processes before subsequently dismantling constitutional safeguards using the very laws they had helped establish.

The Vice-President of IMANI Africa also backed the role of protesters, urging Ghanaians to respect the activists, regardless of personal disagreements. He emphasized that activism should not be judged solely on the consensus of public opinion, stressing that participants put themselves at risk to safeguard democratic freedoms. Speaking of his personal experience during the recent "Democracy Under Attack" protest by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Bentil recounted being assaulted by police officers while attempting to approach the Jubilee House.

This incident was used to underscore the importance of peaceful protest and the need to respect the rights of those involved in activism, even when the cause or protest is politically contentious.

Bentil stressed that the current concerns about the state of Ghana's democracy should not be dismissed. He argued that democratic decline often occurs incrementally, making it difficult to detect until significant damage has been done. With this warning, Bentil called for vigilance and respect for democratic rights, ensuring that once freedoms are restricted, they become increasingly difficult to restore.