Bill to abolish criminal libel

Ghana’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Nana Akufo-Addo, has presented to parliament a bill seeking the abolition of the country’s criminal libel law, the ‘Accra Mail’ newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to the report, Akufo-Addo made the presentation on Tuesday, after which the bill was referred to the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation and Constitutional Affairs for further consideration. It said the law, first enacted by the British colonial administration, was used by past governments against critical publications and journalists - some of whom were jailed under its provisions.

The newspaper carried the text of Akufo-Addo’s presentation, in which he associated the criminal libel law with anti-democratic and authoritarian tendencies. “The general expectation is that the repeal of these laws will assist in the process of consolidating and deepening the hold of democracy in our country,” the minister said.