Akufo-Addo and John Mahama
Journalists, cartoonists and the general public have been warned to desist from making effigies and or images that mimic president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo or any other president as that does not show his true features.
This legal Expert and State Attorney Derek Obeng Asante says is not only an insult to the president but also to the nation of Ghana at large.
Speaking on EIB Networks English platform Ultimate FM in Kumasi, Lawyer Obeng Asante warned people, especially cartoonists, must stop the practice as it’s a mockery of the first gentleman of the land.
“Once somebody becomes a president, we normally refer to him as the first gentleman of the land. When we go to our family settings, we all respect our Abusua Payin. If you become the president of Ghana like his Excellency President Akufo-Addo, his picture is being used as a symbol of Ghana, if you decide to destroy it; you will be brought to book”
“You are not to show disrespect to his image and by extension Ghana because he represents Ghana, we cannot allow you to do certain things to Ghana just like that. Report people who disrespect the image of the president to the police” he said.
Lawyer Obeng Asante also warns journalists whose special interest is in the area of making cartoons should be mindful of making caricatures of the president in their publications.
“When you do that, you are making a mockery of the person. For instance, if you have my picture and you modify it and you make my head look like the usual me, you are making a mockery of me. But you see as a journalist if you do that to a president, the president will not stoop so low and come to the gutters with you and may decide not to attend to you but strictly speaking, it’s a national disrespect to the nation and the president. He is the number one elected gentle of Ghana”, he explained.
The Ghanaian media landscape has seen a number of effigies or cartoons mimic presidents over the years.
All presidents have had their fair share of these and the current president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the past few years has had his in a number of national conversations that involve him.
