Accra: Investigative Ghanaian journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has taken a swipe at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and organisers of the recently held 'Democracy Under Attack' protest in Accra. On August 7, 2026, a pressure group, in collaboration with the New Patriotic Party, staged a protest against what it described as attacks on Ghana's democracy, judicial independence, and constitutional freedoms.
According to Ghana Web, Manasseh Azure reacted to the demonstration in a post shared on X on August 6, 2026, questioning the organisers about the democracy they believed was under attack. He highlighted concerns about the decline in Ghana's judicial autonomy score during the NPP's tenure, as reported by the Mo Ibrahim Good Governance Index.
The journalist further criticized the NPP's claims of democracy under attack, questioning whether it was the same democracy where judicial autonomy fell from a 100% score between 2014 and 2017 to 50% in 2023. He pointed out that the NPP's best performance in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index was their predecessor's worst.
Azure also addressed the treatment of demonstrators against illegal mining during the NPP administration, noting that young protesters were arrested, denied bail, and remanded into custody. He referenced the killing of a journalist and the treatment of media practitioners, questioning the NPP's response to these events.
He challenged the party's concerns about press freedom, citing the decline in Ghana's press freedom ranking from 26th in 2016 to 60th in 2022 during the NPP's rule. Azure argued that the NPP should not complain about issues it allegedly presided over while in government.