An Accra-based legal practitioner has descended heavily on president Nana Akufo-Addo for his subtle criminalisation of free speech under his watch.

Mr. Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe went further to describe president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's administration as a China phone in iPhone package when it comes to guarding freedom of speech in the country.

Mr. Tamakloe said this in reaction to the arrest of Accra FM's presenter Kwabena Bobie Ansah last Thursday night after his Citizen's Show over a comments he made about the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

Mr Tamakloe was talking on the Ghana Yensom morning show on Accra 100.5 FM on Monday, February 14, 2022.

According to him, it is worrying that under the presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo who has been touted as the human rights activist par excellence, journalists are being arrested in line of duty.

“What has changed for free speech to be criminalized under the watch of the president,” he quizzed.

He recalled that in 1995 when the late Tommy Thompson, the publisher of the defunct Free Press newspaper and its editor, Eben Quarcoo were  arraigned for a publication against the former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, under late president Rawlings’ administration, the current president who was then the lawyer for the two journalists  argued that Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings was not a public official and the only remedy available for her was to seek civil remedy and not criminal remedy.

Mr Tamakloe who is also an aide to the former president John Dramani Mahama said it beats his imagination seeing the president behave this way.

“Is this the man as young lawyers, we were made to believe was the human rights lawyer par excellence”? adding “It is true that if you want to see the true colours of a man give him money and power”.