A Ghanaian citizen has filed a suit at the Supreme Court of Ghana seeking to strike down provisions of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775), arguing that they violate constitutional protections on freedom of speech, expression, and the press.

The plaintiff, Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers, through his lawyer Michael Akosah, filed the suit at the Supreme Court Registry in Accra this May, naming the Attorney-General as the sole respondent.

The suit challenges Section 208(1) of Act 29, which criminalises the publication of statements, rumours, or reports “likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or disturb the public peace.”

According to the plaintiff, the provision is “vague, overly broad, and imposes unjustifiable restrictions” on rights guaranteed under Articles 21(1)(a) and (b) and Article 162 of the 1992 Constitution.

The plaintiff is also challenging Section 208(2) of Act 29, which requires an accused person to prove that reasonable steps were taken to verify the accuracy of a publication.

“It expressly removes the defence of honest belief in the truth of a publication from persons charged under Section 208(1), thereby subjecting journalists, media practitioners, and members of the public to criminal liability for the publication of statements that are subsequently found to be inaccurate notwithstanding the absence of deliberate or reckless falsehood,” part of the relief states.

The suit further challenges Section 76(1) of Act 775, which criminalises the sending of a “false or misleading” electronic communication.

The plaintiff argues that the law does not clearly define what amounts to “false or misleading” communication and is therefore inconsistent with Article 19(11) of the Constitution.

He is asking the court to interpret the provision narrowly so it applies only to “knowingly false communications that are intentionally transmitted to endanger life or disrupt life-saving services” and not to mistaken or opinion-based communications.

Section 76(2) of Act 775 is also being challenged on grounds that it violates constitutional protections on free speech and the presumption of innocence.

“It unlawfully reverses the burden of proof on the mental element of knowledge by deeming an accused person to have known that a communication was false or misleading solely on the basis that the accused failed to take reasonable steps to verify its accuracy, thereby violating the constitutional presumption of innocence,” the court documents stated.

The plaintiff also referenced Ghana’s obligations under international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Among the reliefs sought, the plaintiff wants the court to declare Sections 208(1) and (2) of Act 29 and Sections 76(1) and (2) of Act 775 unconstitutional and unenforceable.