Former UN Senior Governance Advisor, Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has warned that Ghana's democracy risks being undermined if political parties continue to portray every prosecution of their members as an attack on the entire party.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Thursday, August 6, amid the ongoing political debate over the arrest of some opposition figures, Prof. Agyeman-Duah said the country's political culture is becoming increasingly unhealthy, with partisan interests often taking precedence over accountability.

"I think our politics, unfortunately, is traversing a path that is very slippery," he said.

According to him, both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) have, over the years, adopted the practice of rushing to defend party members facing criminal investigations or prosecution, making it difficult for the public to distinguish between legitimate law enforcement and political persecution.

"I get disturbed because it seems to me that for the politicians, any attack on one member is an attack on all," he said.

He argued that this tendency has clouded public discourse around criminal accountability and weakened efforts to address corruption and abuse of public office.

"If there's a real case of corruption or stealing of state resources, and there's evidence for that, the proper thing is to secure the arrest, go through the necessary protocols, allow the person to be tried and let judgment be given," he stated.

Prof. Agyeman-Duah stressed that criminal allegations should be assessed on their merits rather than through partisan lenses, warning that attempts by political parties to shield their members risk eroding confidence in the justice system.

He noted that concerns over selective justice, high bail conditions and perceived judicial bias in politically sensitive cases are not new and have surfaced under successive governments whenever politicians have been prosecuted.

While acknowledging those governance concerns, he maintained that they should not be used to undermine the principle that all citizens, including politicians, are equal before the law.

"We are now somehow creating the impression that politicians do no evil, which is not true," he said.

Prof. Agyeman-Duah urged political leaders to allow due process to take its course and to focus on strengthening institutions rather than politicising criminal prosecutions, warning that continued partisan interference could further weaken public trust in democratic governance and the rule of law.