The private legal practitioner says arrests alone will not fix abusive political language, and is calling for a national conversation on where the line should be.
Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has put himself on the list of people who have coarsened Ghana's political language, recalling that he once described former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as "Manpam".
Speaking in an interview, Mr Kpebu said the country's habit of trading insults in politics cannot be blamed on one party alone, and that he himself had crossed the line.
Not a one-sided problem
Mr Kpebu argued that actors and commentators on both sides of Ghana's political divide have, at different moments, used words that go well beyond ordinary criticism of policy or performance.
As an example, he pointed to remarks previously made by President John Dramani Mahama, including the "Akyem mafia" description that stirred controversy when it was used.
His point was not that any single figure is uniquely at fault, but that the habit is now general — which is why, in his view, it needs a general solution rather than case-by-case punishment.
Why he says arrests will not work
Mr Kpebu's comments land in the middle of the row over the "Ghana Jollof" TikTok account and the arrest of people linked to material said to have been circulated through it.
One of those arrested, 40-year-old senior nursing officer Salomey Awiti Bafoh, has been remanded for two weeks after pleading not guilty to a charge of abetment of crime. The allegations against her have not been proven in court, and she remains entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Mr Kpebu questioned whether drawn-out arrests, police cells and prosecutions can realistically change a culture that has built up over years. In his assessment, the country has passed the point where the criminal justice system alone can carry the burden.
A call for a national conversation
Instead, he wants a national dialogue bringing together political actors and other stakeholders to agree on what is acceptable in political communication and what is not.
He framed it as an opportunity for the main political camps to, in his words, "call a truce".
Importantly, Mr Kpebu said the aim should not be to shut down criticism. Ghanaians must still be free to hold leaders to account, he indicated. The goal, rather, is to set boundaries that keep public debate free of abusive language and of statements capable of causing real harm.
Why it matters
For Ghanaians following events from the United States and elsewhere, much of the political conversation now happens on social media platforms such as TikTok, where content crosses borders instantly and the identity of those posting is often unclear.
That is part of what makes the enforcement question difficult: arrests may reach a few individuals, but the conversation itself is global. Mr Kpebu's argument is that agreement on limits, not prosecution, is the more durable route.
Reported first by The Ghana Report on 2026-09-19. This article was written for our readers based on that report. Follow the link for the original coverage.
