In the latest episode of political hypocrisy and one-sided moral grandstanding, Mahama Ayariga, the Member of Parliament for Bawku and the Majority Leader in Ghana’s Parliament, has once again exposed his dangerous partisanship and blatant disregard for truth, fairness, and national cohesion.
On Wednesday, July 9, 2025, a horrifying incident occurred in Bawku. While under military escort, a truck belonging to Mamprusi civilians was allegedly abandoned in a Kusasi-dominated area by the very soldiers assigned to ensure their safety. In the aftermath, Kusasi bandits attacked and gruesomely murdered three Mamprusi on the spot. Shamefully, not a single word of condemnation was issued by Mr. Mahama Ayariga. He remained mute. The Ghanaian media; turned a blind eye, refusing to report this tragedy with the same urgency and outrage they reserve for other issues. This silence was deafening. This silence emboldened the killers. This silence betrayed the Mamprusi community.
Fast forward just a day later; on Thursday, July 10, Kusasi militants launched yet another attack on Mamprusi civilians who were again under military escort. In a rare show of resolve, the military responded with force, leading to the destruction of property along the road—an unfortunate but perhaps inevitable outcome in an area riddled with unchecked violence.
Suddenly, Mahama Ayariga found his voice. The same man who remained quiet when three Mamprusi lives were violently snuffed out by Kusasi bandits now had the audacity to issue a strong-worded statement—not to condemn the bandits or call for justice for the slayed, but to attack the military for retaliating and to defend a statue that was reportedly brought down during the skirmish. A statue is more important to him than human lives. Hypocrisy at the highest level.
Let us be clear: no one is celebrating the destruction of public property or any unnecessary use of force. But it is morally bankrupt for a national leader to turn a blind eye to murder and then cry foul over a statue. Where was Ayariga’s outrage when innocent Mamprusi lives were lost? Where was his press release? Where was his humanity?
This selective activism and dangerous double standard are precisely why Mahama Ayariga is unfit to serve as the Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament. Leadership is not about representing only your ethnic group. It is not about defending criminal acts when committed by your own and remaining silent when the same is visited on others.
Bawku is bleeding. Its people are tired. Innocent lives are being lost, and all Mahama Ayariga seems concerned about is pushing a narrative that makes one side look perpetually victimized and the other perpetually violent. Well-meaning Ghanaians must rise above this tribal partisanship. We must call out this hypocrisy and demand accountability and balance from all our leaders. Mahama Ayariga’s continued one-sided commentary is not only fuelling tensions in Bawku but also undermining the very principles of justice and peace he claims to uphold.
If Ghana is to ever see peace in Bawku, leaders like Ayariga must first stop fanning the flames with biased rhetoric. Until then, the bloodshed will continue—not because Ghanaians do not care, but because those entrusted to lead have chosen propaganda over peace, and silence over justice.
Mahama Ayariga has failed the test of leadership. He has lost the moral ground to speak on Bawku matters. And until he condemns all violence—regardless of who commits it—he remains unworthy of holding the honourable position of Majority Leader in our Republic.
