Ernest Owusu Bempah
Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah, Deputy Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has called for the arrest and prosecution of Agyapadie Document Publishers as he condemned the publication of the fictional document.
In a statement issued by his outfit, he described the document as a brazen act of media tyranny and deception.
The 38-page document, which features the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, President Nana Akufo-Addo, and his late father, outlines strategies for a particular “family” or “clan” to dominate various sectors.
Bempah alleges that key players in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), including Dr. Omane Boamah, Okudzeto Ablakwa, Abraham Amaliba, and Edudzi Tamakloe, are allegedly involved in the document’s creation and dissemination.
He calls for an investigation into the publication and for those responsible to be arrested and prosecuted under relevant sections of the Criminal Offenses Act 1960 (Act 29) and the Electronic Communications Act 2008 (Act 775).
The statement emphasizes the need for the Inspector General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare, to take urgent action to arrest and bring to justice those responsible for the publication.
Owusu Bempah argues that this is necessary to deter the peddling of falsehoods and to maintain public trust in the media.
Below is the full statement:
Statement calling on the police to arrest the publishers of the Agyapadie document
Over the last couple of days, Ghana has seen politics of deception and media tyranny elevated on top of our national discourse. That pushback sits at the heart of the fictional and fictitious Agyapadie publication released on www.awakenewsroom.com, and flowing from this is the mercenary politicking of the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC).
The 38-page document, which lacks an identified author, prominently features the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin on the cover, with President Nana Akufo-Addo and his late father on the subsequent page.
The document is believed to outline strategies for how a particular ‘family’ or ‘clan’ plans to establish dominance and control various sectors including the economy, politics, media, judiciary, telecommunications, and banking.
On Thursday, August 1, 2024, President Akufo-Addo addressed rumours regarding this document and dismissed its content.
Chapter 5, Article 21 of the 1992 Constitution provides all persons the right to freedom of speech and expression including freedom of the press and other media.
Additionally, Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana is devoted to the freedom and independence of the media, whereas Article 162 of the Chapter highlights the freedom and responsibilities of the media.
The 1960 Criminal Offenses Act 1960 (Act 29) specifies that any false publication that has the tendency to cause public unrest is a misdemeanour. It adds that ignorance of the falsehood of the publication is not a defence unless the person proves reasonable measures were taken to verify the content before its publication. The sender or forwarder of any false communication is without any excuse even if the person was not the originator of the message.
Section 208 (1) states:
“A person who publishes or reproduces a statement, rumour or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace knowing or having reason to believe that the statement, rumour or report is false commits a misdemeanour”
And Section 208 (2) states:
“It is not a defence to a charge under subsection (1) that the person charged did not know or did not have reason to believe that the statement, rumour or report was false unless it is proved that before publication, that person took reasonable measures to verify the accuracy of the statement, rumour or report.”
Again, the Electronic Communications Act 2008 (Act 775) specifies that it is offensive to knowingly send false communication which has the potential to put the safety of people at risk or be detrimental to the efficiency of life-saving services via any electronic means. By engaging in the act and subjecting oneself to the legal test in section 76, that person would be liable for the offence.
Section 76 (1) states:
”A person who by means of electronic communications knowingly sends communication which is false or misleading and likely to prejudice the efficiency of life-saving services or to endanger the safety of any person commits an offence”.
Section 76 (2) states:
“A person is taken to know that a communication is false or misleading if that person did not take reasonable steps to find out whether the communication was false, misleading, reckless or fraudulent.”
I, therefore, called for an investigation into the entire Agyapadie publication and those believed to have orchestrated the publication to be fished out and followed up with a view to punishing them in accordance with the relevant sections of the Criminal Offences Act.
It is alleged that key players in the news, the likes of Dr Omane Boamah, Okudzeto Ablakwa, Abraham Amaliba and Edudzi Tamakloe, have a thing to do with the document.
The publishers of Awake News and their collaborators have developed a penchant for the publication of news because they always get away with it regardless of the magnitude of the evil lies they peddle.
As a country, we cannot look on for the NDC to always peddle brazen and wicked falsehoods and later turn around to say this is politics.
On this current issue, the publishers of Awake News must be subjected to the full rigours of the law to deter them from hiding behind social media to create confusion in the system.
The Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, as a matter of urgency, must arrest the people behind the publication of this fictional document and bring them to face the full rigours of the law.
Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah
Deputy Director of Communications.
BY Daniel Bampoe