President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has strongly condemned the arrest of Alfred Ababio Kumi, a youth activist of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and former parliamentary aspirant, calling the move unnecessary and excessive.
Adenta Kumi, as he is widely known was picked up by officials of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) on Friday, May 23 dawn and charged with publication of false news.
He was accused of making false claims both on his X (formerly Twitter) account and during a radio interview, in connection with a petition he submitted to the President.
He is at the centre of a petition calling for the dissolution of the committee investigating the Chief Justice. In the petition, Kumi alleges misconduct that he believes could compromise the integrity of the inquiry.
Speaking on Channel One TV‘s The Big Issue on Saturday May 24, Cudjoe expressed dismay at the handling of the situation, questioning why Kumi couldn’t have been invited for a statement instead of being subjected to what he described as a forceful raid by armed personnel.
“I am a bit surprised that we are still doing these things that we’ve all condemned in the past. I don’t understand why the person in question cannot just be invited and asked to make a statement. Why should it take armed men raiding a man’s house, detaining him for hours?” Cudjoe remarked.
The IMANI Africa leader further lamented the growing trend of aggressive enforcement over matters of alleged false publication, describing the actions as “mindless.”
“I don’t know who is pressing certain political buttons, but this thing is mindless. It is mindless, and I don’t think this act should go in the name of the president at all,” he emphasised.
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