Story by Bless Koku Alormasor

Opinions seem to be divided on the Camilla Alhassan issue, and I expected that, especially because of its political undertones. In all of this, the logic in some of the commentaries is stupefying; some have left me apoplectic with rage. In certain cases, very respected members of our society have made comments I find outlandish.

I am sincerely mortified.

What is free speech?
What are insults?
What are calumny and defamation?

A few months ago, one music enthusiast, an avowed Shatta Wale aficionado, Webkhid, was arrested by the Police for making disparaging remarks about Shatta Wale’s eternal music rival, Stonebwoy, and his wife, Louisa. I do not have the stomach to repeat the unsavoury remarks he made and the scathing tirade he launched against them.

His arrest gave me some relief — I’m sure it brought even greater relief to the sufferers of the abuse, Louisa Satekla and Kwame Etsey Satekla, aka Stonebwoy.

I do not support the circumstances surrounding his lengthy stay in Police custody without bail.

Imagine someone accused your father of removing the ‘dross’ from children and sleeping with them. That’s pedophilia, one of the worst crimes anybody could commit or be accused of. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the allegation a right-thinking member of Ghanaian society levelled against Ghana’s President.

Even NPP apologists conveniently leave out this part when addressing this issue; it is too grave an allegation for them to repeat, and understandably so. They only tell the world that she was arrested and jailed for saying the President allegedly buried 32 live cows across Ghana in order to win the 2024 polls.

I am a proponent of free speech; it is the lifeblood of the journalism profession, and as a practitioner, it would be out of place for me to be against it. Equally, nobody in Ghana is above reproach; not even the President, who doubles as Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces.

However, free speech should not give people the licence to say whatever they want to whomever they choose. There is no place on this earth where sane people will offer bouquets of roses to Camilla for the pedophilia accusations she made against President Mahama. That a section of the Ghanaian populace does not find this condemnable is sad.

There is something I’m very certain of. If someone accused Otumfuo of pedophilia, or Togbe Afede of the same, all hell would break loose. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry would be furious. The person would face an even stiffer punishment than the one-year jail term Camilla has been asked to serve. Why? Tradition does not ask for respect; it demands it. Tradition does not give you the option to reject it; you must oblige.

In other jurisdictions, people pay the penalty for such reckless commentary. Rape and pedophilia are no trivial crimes. People who have merely been accused of them, even without proof, have borne the brunt for the remainder of their lives. Only recently, at the World Cup, Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey was denied entry into Canada by the authorities because of a pending court issue relating to rape in another jurisdiction. Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy is still living with the consequences of rape charges levelled against him despite being found not guilty. Neymar Jr., Drake… the list is endless.

False allegations of pedophilia against the President should give cause for concern. It is an international embarrassment, one that puts the country in a bad light.

We cannot, under the guise of free speech, continue to make irresponsible comments and defame people. We are gradually nurturing a society of slanderers who have no scintilla of respect for others. Very soon, it will go beyond politicians to the traditional figures we so revere, if we have not already gotten there.

Free speech is indispensable to democracy, but it cannot become a sanctuary for calculated falsehoods that destroy reputations.

A word is enough for the wise.