Speaking up was an act of bravery, foolhardiness in Akufo-Addo’s era — Manasseh Azure

Ghanaian investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has commented on the suppression of free speech and the culture of silence under the immediate past government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

According to him, speaking out during the erstwhile regime was an act of bravery that often required those willing to speak up to risk their lives.

In an open letter to President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, January 23, Manasseh urged the President to rein in his supporters who are threatening to silence critics.

“Permit me to address this crucial issue. Some of your party members have started threatening to crush voices of dissent. Their reason is that the media and civil society were silent when Akufo-Addo was in power, so they won’t allow them to talk. I see many of these claims, especially on social media.

“Over the past eight years, I missed no opportunity to contrast the Akufo-Addo regime with your presidency whenever media freedom and free speech were discussed. While tolerance for dissent, spearheaded by your body language, allowed Ghanaians to have their say during your presidency, speaking up was an act of bravery—and, sometimes, foolhardiness—in the Akufo-Addo era,” he wrote.

The journalist also recounted how he had to travel abroad due to threats to his life and even sought psychological assistance.

“For doing my work under the oppressive Akufo-Addo regime, I had to resign from my job, went into exile twice, went to work with armed police escorts at some point, and ended up seeking therapy from a clinical psychologist because of the toll of the pressure on my mental health,” Manasseh recalled.