Deputy National Youth Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Isaac Jay Hyde, has stated that the party’s resistance against what it describes as oppression by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is not a partisan effort but a national duty to protect the rights and freedoms of all Ghanaians.
Speaking ahead of the planned ‘Yɛn Suro Ahunahuna’ protest, he said the NPP is pushing back against attempts by the NDC to silence dissent and restrict freedom of expression, particularly through the monitoring of online activity and efforts to clamp down on critics.
“This fight is not just the fight of the NPP but for our collective good as a Ghanaian people,” he said on Channel One Newsroom on Friday, September 19. “Today, the NDC is saying that they are silencing critics and going after those who speak out against abuse on the airwaves.”
While acknowledging the need for responsible use of media, Hyde criticised what he described as excessive surveillance tactics, including tracking IP addresses of online users. He noted that such approaches are not even used in well-established democracies like the United States and other major economies that Ghana looks to as models of democratic governance.
He warned that Ghana risks heading down a dangerous path if these trends continue unchecked, drawing parallels with recent incidents in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Nepal, where similar actions led to political instability and public unrest.
“We’ve seen what happened in Kenya, we saw what happened in Nigeria, and we’ve seen what has happened in Nepal. We don’t think that is the route the NDC wants to go,” he said.
Jay Hyde concluded by stressing the need to uphold the fundamental rights enshrined in Chapter Five of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees freedoms such as speech, expression, and association.
“We want to collectively ensure that the very essence of Chapter Five of our Constitution, which guarantees freedoms and rights of our citizenry, is protected.”
The ‘Yɛn Suro Ahunahuna’ protest, organised by the NPP youth wing, is scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, and aims to mobilise citizens against what organisers call growing threats to democracy, political freedom, and civil liberties in Ghana.
Read also
Mahama’s decision to accept US deportees ‘reckless’ – Nana Boakye
