According to private legal practitioner and outspoken NPP member Maurice Ampaw, the real thing that kept the New Patriotic Party (NPP) up at night wasn’t what Mahama had built — it was who he could touch.
“The biggest fear wasn’t Mahama’s past achievements,” Ampah confessed during his show on Wontumi Radio. “He could connect with ordinary Ghanaians in a way very few politicians could.”
He didn’t mince words. “You may not like Mahama,” he explained, “but you can’t deny the man’s gift. He speaks the people’s language. He connects with market women. He connects with the youth. And even after being out of power for years, his brand was still strong.”
That brand strength, according to Ampah, terrified the NPP’s inner circle.
“It forced us to change strategy,” he admitted. “We couldn’t risk facing him on ideas alone. If we left it purely on who could connect better with the people or who appeared more relatable, we would lose badly. So, what do you do? You go for character assassination. You go for propaganda.”
And that’s exactly what they did. In the tense months leading up to the 2024 elections, the propaganda machinery within the NPP went into full swing.
No stone was left unturned. Old scandals were dragged from the past. Past mistakes were blown out of proportion. Even Mahama’s personal life wasn’t spared.
But politics, like life, has a funny way of humbling even the best-laid-out plans.
Despite the relentless attacks, Mahama’s popularity refused to fade. The more he was attacked, the more sympathetic he became to ordinary voters.
