Former President John Mahama has added his voice to the controversy surrounding a cartoon shared by his party’s National Communication Officer, Mr Sammy Gyamfi, which depicted President Nana Akufo-Addo and Electoral Commission Chair Jean Mensa kneeling on and suffocating a Ghanaian voter a la George Floyd’s murder by a white cop in the United States, which has sparked global anger.

Mr Gyamfi has been widely condemned by celebrities such as Sarkodie and satirist-turned-politician Kwame A Plus among others, for sharing the meme on his social media page.

Wading into the conversation, Mr Mahama wrote this on Facebook:

“A tale of two cartoons:

Sensitivity – Sensitivities (plural).

Definition: the quality or condition of being sensitive: feelings liable to be offended or hurt; sensibilities.

Double standard – Double standards (plural).

Definition: a rule or principle, which is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups.”

A tale of two cartoons:

Sensitivity - Sensitivities (plural).

Definition: the quality or condition of being...

Posted by John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday, June 3, 2020

On Wednesday, a group calling itself the Coalition Against Racial Abuse (CARA), said it has taken notice of the “highly insensitive” publication by Mr Gyamfi, which makes mockery of the memory of the late George Perry Floyd, an African American who was “gruesomely killed” by a white American police officer in the USA on 25 May 2020.

“We, in the Coalition Against Racial Abuse (CARA), do not intend to suppress free speech and freedom of expression as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. Suffice to say, it is incumbent on citizens, especially those in political authority, to exercise circumspection in their utterances and publications in order not to afflict pain on people's sensitivities”, the group said.

It noted that this is the time the world must see people of the black race in unison condemning the incessant abuse of black people across the globe. “We must let the world understand that it is no fault of any man’s to be black in complexion, for which reason they must be subjected to inhumane treatment by the white race and not be making fun of one's death”.

“We are by this press release calling on all well-meaning Ghanaians and people across the globe who are enraged by the late George Floyd's murder to condemn, in no certain terms, this highly insensitive, irresponsible, reckless and infantile politicisation by Sammy Gyamfi and his cohorts with all the force at their disposal”, the group said.

“Furthermore, this Coalition calls on the rank and file of the NDC to admonish Sammy Gyamfi to desist from such callous and amateurish behaviour in the future”.

Also, Kwame A Plus said the NDC must outsource its communications to bloggers or advertising companies, following the meme gaffe.

A Plus wrote: “The NDC must outsource their communications to an advertising company or bloggers like GhKwaku, Nkonkonsa and ZionFelix”.

“I'm sure they will do better”, he added.

According to him, “In 2016, they [NDC] scored an own-goal when they attempted to mock Nana with Kalyppo”.

“Not long ago”, he continued, “They told us to vote for them to come back to power because they have ‘learnt their lesson’. Don't mind them. It is not true. They have not leant whuuutey!!!”