Accra came to a standstill today as thousands of Ghanaians including NPP supporters, civil society activists and members of some opposition political parties marched through the capital in a massive demonstration dubbed "Democracy Under Attack". 

But this was not just about court cases and arrests. 

The core of the protest was a warning that Ghana’s democracy is being chipped away through selective prosecutions and what the demonstrators call the arbitrary arrest of citizens who speak against the government.

The demonstrators pointed to two trends since the NDC took office.

First, they mentioned the justice system, slamming the Mahama government for discontinuing several corruption and financial crime cases against former NDC appointees while the same government “under the guise of fighting corruption" has been "persecuting" former NPP officials.

Second, the demonstrators raised concerns over how the government is taking the country back to the dark  days of the culture of silence the nation experienced under the brutal PNDC days. 

Leaders of the NPP, who turned up in their numbers alongside thousands of party supporters, further highlighted the arrest and harassment of journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens who have criticized government policies on social media, radio and at public events among other avenues. 

"This administration inherited a justice system and chose to make it a bat. They use it to beat opponents and shield allies."

"That is not democracy; that is selective tyranny and this demonstration is our refusal to accept a two-tier system of law,” a speaker told the crowd.  

Speakers said the goal is not accountability but intimidation.

"We support accountability. But when you drop cases against your own ministers and then hunt down opponents with the same courts, that's not justice that's political warfare."

"And when you arrest a citizen for posting a comment, for speaking on radio, for asking questions; that is not security. That is fear," a demonstrator lamented.

The demonstrators marched across the streets showcasing various messages on placards in protest against President John Mahama.

Some messages on the placards read: "Ghana's courts are becoming the opposition's prosecutor."

"The NDC wants accountabilitybut only for the other side."

Other placards also read: "If corruption is a crime, prosecute everyone including your own. If it's not, prosecute no one. But you cannot do both based on party colours.”

"They dropped their own cases and revived ours - justice is now a political stopwatch."  

The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, in the company of the NPP leaders who joined the demonstration, also stated that the Mahama government has been largely characterised by selective justice and arbitrary arrests.

The NPP leadership, party  supporters, the PNP party and other citizens who joined the protest sent a clear message to the Mahama government that Ghana’s democracy was built on two pillars namely equal justice and freedom of expression, stressing by using the courts against political opponents and the police against critics is  an attack on these fundamental democratic principles.

"They didn't break the cycle of corruption - they just changed who gets prosecuted. And now they want to break the cycle of dissent too." 

"You can't claim to fight corruption when you give your own side a get-out-of-jail-free card. And you can't claim to defend democracy when you jail people for their opinions."