NDC may face selective justice questions over prosecutions – Kofi Bentil

Senior lawyer and Vice-President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, says the government could face questions over whether justice is being applied selectively.

Mr Bentil said there were arguments on both sides of the debate but suggested that the NDC administration’s record over its four-year term would ultimately determine the strength of the allegations.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, he said citizens already had enough developments to begin assessing the government’s approach to prosecutions, although he acknowledged that the evidence could be interpreted differently.

“I think those arguing for selective justice will have enough facts to back what they are saying, but those who are also arguing that we don’t have selective justice will have their case too,” he said.

He said the government had been in office for two years and that its handling of cases involving people from the opposition and the governing party could form the basis for public assessment.

“Two years have passed, if you draw the report card, there is ground to say that they have been more zealous in prosecuting people in the opposition and more zealous in freeing people from within their ranks,” he said.

“And to that extent therefore, you can claim there is selective justice.”

Mr Bentil did not say the matter had been conclusively established, noting that supporters of the government could also point to cases and other evidence to challenge the allegation.

He said the broader question was whether the government’s actions, taken together, showed a consistent pattern in the way criminal justice was being pursued.

His comments come after a major demonstration by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Accra on Thursday.

Thousands of NPP supporters joined the protest, which was held under the theme “Democracy Under Attack”.

The party accused the government of undermining democratic principles and weakening key state institutions.

The demonstration ended with the NPP presenting a petition at the Supreme Court and at the forecourt of Jubilee House, the seat of government.

The delegation included Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, General Secretary Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and the Chief of Staff to NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

The NPP has made selective justice one of its major concerns, arguing that opposition figures have faced prosecution while people linked to the governing party have received comparatively favourable treatment.

Mr Bentil said the government would ultimately be judged on its complete record rather than individual cases or political arguments made during its tenure.

“But the proof of the pudding is in its eating. This government and by extension this NDC party will be judged after four years.”

He also linked the debate over justice to the wider question of protecting Ghana’s democratic freedoms.

Mr Bentil said citizens should not wait until democratic institutions had been seriously weakened before taking action to protect them.

“For me, I am not waiting for all of our democracy to be removed from under our feet and for us to fall down before we rise up,” he said.

He called for continued public involvement in defending and strengthening democratic freedoms.

“So we always have to make sure that we are staying at the forefront and ensure that we expand the frontiers of freedom,” he said.

His comments come as political parties and civil society groups continue to debate the independence of state institutions and the government’s approach to criminal prosecutions.

The NDC has defended its record in office, while the NPP maintains that recent developments justify its concerns about the state of Ghana’s democracy.