Did Mahama really hire the boisterous Taylor to insult the Asantehene and Akyemhene?

I could hardly believe my ears upon listening to the clamorous Taylor boldly and impertinently revealing that he has been hired by President Mahama to attack his critics and adversaries in the name of politics(emphasis mine).

I bet in any serious democracy, President Mahama would be impeached for tasking a flamboyant brat to preach hate speech and incitement and abuse all sorts of Ghanaians which have the potential to destabilise the national ambiance.

It is quite alarming when a venerable leader could hire loose talkers like Kevin Taylor to hide behind the social media and preach hate speech and incitement and abuse all sorts of people, including the Asantehene, the Akyemhene, the Volta chiefs, the Fante chiefs, amongst others.

If President Mahama has indeed tasked Kevin Taylor to attack his adversaries, where then lies the justification for the recent arrests and detentions of the NPP operatives over free speech and freedom of opinion?

More recently, a young lady, a loyalist of the New Patriotic Party, was arrested and detained for reposting someone’s clip, allegedly depicting insult.

The loudmouthed Kevin Taylor evidently insults people indiscriminately, and once insolently vowed to burn some chiefs and their palaces.

Taylor has regrettably been hiding behind the cloak of freedom of opinion and expression and persistently abusing innocent people and inciting hate speech day in and day out.

Suffice it to stress that incitement, instigation, abetment and solicitation are all common to various criminal codes world-wide, including Ghana.

The strident Kevin Taylor has consistently been trampling upon the living, the dead, the spirits, and the gods, without being reprimanded.

It is true that the right to freedom of opinion and expression stretches to queer and unpopular ideas and statements which “shock, offend or disturb”,-encapsulated in international law -Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Of course, freedom of opinion and expression may be subject to restrictions. But these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: restrict in the public interest on grounds of national security, to preserve public order, to protect public health, to maintain moral standards, to secure due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others or to meet the just requirements of the general welfare of a democratic society.

It is also true that the right of free speech and expression does not extend to sedition, slander, defamation and obscenity.

This right, like others, may be restricted to protect and balance other rights and interests. However, it is the complexion and the degree of these restrictions that is often contended in extant human rights and security jurisprudence.

We must not and cannot lose sight of the fact that most wars, crimes and genocides which were perpetrated against humanity were arguably expedited through the use of hate speech, aimed at securing popular support for illegal and violent action.

We can attest to the Nazi hate speech which preceded the Holocaust, the Radio and Television hate speech which preceded the Rwandan Genocide and al-Qaeda hate speech which preceded the attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001.

Thus, Article 20(2) of the ICCPR requires states to prohibit hate speech: “Any advocacy of national, tribe, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence”.

Apparently, an incitement to commit an illegal act is in itself illegal under international law.

Moreover, incitement, instigation, abetment and solicitation are all common to various criminal codes world-wide.

These are generally considered "inchoate offense[s]" or "a step toward[s] the commission of another crime, the step itself being serious enough to merit punishment”.

In the English common law for instance, there are three general inchoate offenses: 1) attempt; 2) conspiracy; and 3) incitement.

“ Incitement conveys a "general label to cover any use of words or other device by which a person is requested, urged, advised, and counselled, tempted, commanded, or otherwise enticed to commit a crime."

In Ghana, and Africa as a whole, our conduct and attitudes are mostly guided by the majoritarian African culture of respect, so it is quite troubling when a respectable leader can contract brats to hide behind the social media and preach hate speech and incitement and abuse all sorts of people in the name of politics.

May God bless our homeland Ghana!
K. Badu, UK.
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