Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has dismissed claims by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin that the government is engaging in political persecution, insisting that the courts—not the Attorney General—are responsible for criminal convictions. Mr Ayariga’s remarks were in response to comments by Mr Afenyo-Markin during the debate on the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, in which the Minority Leader accused the government of targeting opposition figures through politically motivated prosecutions. Addressing Parliament on Thursday, July 23, Mr Ayariga defended the independence of the judiciary and urged the Minority to challenge court decisions through the appropriate legal channels instead of attacking judges.
“I’m surprised that when we have been presented with a Mid-Year Budget Review, we are seeking to castigate the judiciary of this country,” he said. “It is not the Attorney General who convicted Wontumi. It is not Ato Forson who convicted Wontumi.
It is a judge who convicted Wontumi. So the place to go is the court where he has been convicted. Go and fight your case in the court.” Read also: Stop threatening NPP MPs with prosecution, you will be in opposition in 2028 – Afenyo-Markin warns AG His comments followed a warning by Mr Afenyo-Markin to Attorney General Dr Dominic Ayine to exercise caution in pursuing alleged prosecutions against New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament, claiming the current government could find itself in opposition after the 2028 general election.
The Minority Leader had accused the government of engaging in “political persecution” and cited the conviction of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, as well as the prosecution of other opposition figures. Responding to those claims, Mr Ayariga urged Parliament to remain focused on the budget debate and support the government’s economic reform agenda. He called on lawmakers to back the Finance Minister’s legislative proposals, noting that several bills laid before the House are intended to help the government achieve its fiscal and economic targets.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has accused the government of intimidating critics and failing to deliver on key campaign promises, and worsening the economic hardship facing Ghanaians. Reacting to the 2026 Mid-Year budget statement presented by the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, in Parliament on Thursday, July 23, Mr Afenyo-Markin claimed the government had become intolerant of criticism and was using threats of prosecution to silence dissent. “When people criticise you, you threaten them.
A lot of my MPs here have been threatened. You are threatening Members of Parliament with prosecution,” he said. The Minority Leader insisted that such actions would not stop the opposition from scrutinising the government’s actions.
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