The argument is also that the state has sufficient resources to counter false publications by publishing the facts. People also feel that the law is simply being misused to „teach” dissenting views „where the power is.” If a civil remedy is available, freedom of expression should not be criminalized. And in response to Tamakloe`s arrest in 2021, CPJ demanded that criminal charges against Tamakloe be dropped. Ghana repealed its controversial criminal defamation law two decades ago. Recent incidents have led the Ghanaian police to use a different law to arrest and prosecute some media figures. The law used is the publication of false news under the Criminal Offences Act. Samuel Appiah Darko, a lawyer and media law professor, explains to Godfred Akoto Boafo of The Conversation Africa why the law was passed, the dangers of its wording and the abuses it allows. It is interesting to note that when the Ghanaian Parliament repealed the Defamation Act in 2001, Section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, Act 29, already existed in the Acts. This section of the Act was passed by British colonial rule in 1893.

It is so vague and nebulous that it pursues almost every type of speech that, in the opinion of the executor, can cause fear and terror. Journalists, activists and religious leaders are covered by criminal law, namely section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, Act 29, as amended. It is the publication of fake news with the intention of creating fear and alarm. In 2001, Ghana repealed most of the draconian provisions of Act 29, including those relating to criminal defamation and insult. But the fake posts were omitted. We don`t know why. Some researchers say it was an oversight, others say it was intentional. In July 2001, Ghana`s parliament unanimously repealed laws on criminal defamation and seditious violence that had been used to imprison a number of journalists in the past, according to the West African Journalists Association (WAJA). With this amendment, anyone charged with committing a crime under the repealed sections will be released. Since Ghana repealed the Criminal Defamation Act (July 2001), defamation cases in Ghana will now fall under civil tort actions. „So I don`t have a problem with sections 208 and 207, as they are written, but since the police are currently enforcing them, I have a problem because it`s a backdoor introduction of criminal defamation,” he added. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda has also often been cited as a chilling example of what irresponsible reporting can do in the diversity of fake news.

„The problem here is really the fact that it`s criminalized. Why are you criminalizing something that can be done in a civil suit? Is it because the person comes from a certain area, is he or she is the public figure, or is it something you said that we are criminalizing? Criminal defamation and seditious defamation laws existed under military and constitutional rule in Ghana. Until its repeal, the fear of arrest was constant, making journalistic practice dangerous. A number of editors and journalists have been arrested and imprisoned. Those of the most dominated state media exercised self-censorship, and the few noisy private media such as the Free Press and the Catholic Standard needed extra courage to practice. This meant being careful and calculating when publishing. Both laws provide the government with an interesting justification for arresting journalists and critical voices for prosecution, even though the criminal defamation law ceased to exist 21 years ago – fake news. They are like the two ugly sisters of the criminal libel law that never followed it.

Recently, many African courts have ruled that false publications are contrary to international standards. In May 2021, Kenya`s High Court ruled that publishing false statements, rumours or alarming reports is not a criminal offence. A similar decision was issued by the High Court of Zambia in 2014. The courts have found that criminalizing false publications suppresses freedom of expression. Samuel Appiah Darko, a lawyer and senior lecturer in media law at the African University College of Communications, points out that the law is rather amorphous. „It is so vague and nebulous that it pursues almost any type of speech that, in the opinion of the executor, can cause fear and concern,” he said in an article. „Now 207 and 208 have certain elements. So we have the fact that a person makes threatening or offensive words or behavior, that person does it in a public place or in a public gathering, and then the words, comments or actions are likely to cause a breach of the peace, so to speak. And (with) criminal defamation, strictly speaking, once you publish it, you are guilty of criminal defamation as long as it is defamatory, whether you wanted it or not. On 27 July 2001, Ghana repealed its criminal defamation and sedition laws. The country`s parliament voted unanimously to amend the Penal Code Act (Repeal of the Penal Laws and the Sedition Amendment Act 2001), a law that had previously imprisoned many journalists for their work.

In the years that followed, Ghana`s press culture flourished and the country quickly became a benchmark by which democracy and press freedom were measured in much of Africa. But 21 years later, journalists are being arrested and thrown in jail for doing their job – the same things that killed and sedition laws repealed to prevent them.