NPP Condemns ‘State-Sponsored Abduction’ of Journalist Afrifa Mensah, Calls for Press Freedom

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has strongly criticized the alleged unlawful arrest and detention of veteran journalist Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah by National Security operatives.

In a statement signed by General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong on Wednesday, March 19, the party denounced the act as a desperate attempt by the John Mahama administration to suppress press freedom.

Labeling the incident as “state-sponsored lawlessness,” the NPP warned that such actions pose a serious threat to Ghana’s democracy.

“This unlawful action by the marauding operatives of the National Security is the latest in a series of state-backed attacks on the media by the NDC government, aimed at silencing dissenting voices,” the statement read.

The NPP commended Ghanaians—particularly young activists and a legal team—who swiftly intervened by demanding Afrifa Mensah’s release at the National Security Secretariat.

Reminding President Mahama of Ghana’s democratic legacy, the party highlighted that as of January 7, 2025, the country stood as a beacon of press freedom with strong institutions. It also recalled the repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law in 2001, led by then-Attorney General Nana Akufo-Addo, as a milestone in safeguarding media rights.

The statement further condemned the alleged use of state security to intimidate political opponents and journalists, calling it a blatant violation of constitutional principles.

The NPP urged the Ghana Journalists Association, the Media Foundation for West Africa, Civil Society Organizations, and other stakeholders to stand against what it described as an escalating culture of oppression.

“Enough is enough,” the statement concluded, demanding an immediate end to what it called tyranny against the press.