BY Daniel Bampoe
Former Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has expressed concern over the arrest and remand of a 40-year-old senior nursing officer, Salomey Awity Baffoe, in connection with investigations into the anonymous TikTok account known as “Ghana Jollof.”
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in a statement, described the case involving the Techiman-based nurse and mother of three as worrying, particularly following reports that she was taken from her home at night by persons who identified themselves as security operatives.
Baffoe was reportedly arrested at her residence in Hansua, in the Techiman Municipality of the Bono East Region, on the night of September 13, 2026. Her brother, Antwi Francis, told the media that three people, comprising two men and a woman dressed in black, arrived at about 11:30 p.m. and took her away. The family said the officers did not initially show them an arrest warrant or explain the specific grounds for the arrest.
The circumstances surrounding her initial detention generated public concern after her relatives reportedly struggled to establish where she had been taken. Her lawyer, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, subsequently raised questions about the procedure used in the arrest and the failure to immediately provide information about her whereabouts.
The case is linked to the “Ghana Jollof” TikTok account, which has published content critical of President John Dramani Mahama and other government officials. Baffoe has denied being behind the account. Before her arrest, she reportedly released a video urging the public to disregard claims linking her to Ghana Jollof and described herself as a nurse and mother with no connection to the account.
Despite her denial, prosecutors have accused her of allegedly assisting the publication of false news. She has been charged with abetment of the publication of false news and was remanded by the Adenta Circuit Court 1 for two weeks while investigations continue. She has not been convicted of the charge.
Her lawyer has challenged the continued detention, arguing that she had already spent several days in custody before being brought before the court. He also questioned why she should remain in custody when the prosecution had indicated that the person allegedly behind the Ghana Jollof account was believed to be in the United Kingdom.
The case has attracted wider criticism, with private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu questioning whether detention was necessary for investigators to examine the allegations.
He argued that if investigators believed relevant material was on Baffoe’s phone, the device could be secured and examined without necessarily keeping her in custody.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has now entered the debate, saying the reported treatment of the nurse raises broader questions about the protection of civil liberties and freedom of expression under Ghana’s constitutional democracy.
He said he had always rejected politics based on insults and urged political actors to remain decorous, stressing that ideas capable of transforming Ghana would not emerge from personal attacks.
However, Dr Bawumia argued that opposition to insults should not be used to justify restrictions on legitimate free expression. He maintained that freedom of speech remains a fundamental component of the democratic system, even when opinions expressed are considered offensive or unpopular.
He further accused the government of applying the law selectively, alleging that some people are allowed to make offensive statements without facing comparable consequences while others are arrested or jailed because of the political figures they target.
“Please release Salomey Bafor Awiti and others who have been similarly charged and jailed,” Bawumia said, while calling for the protection of democratic freedoms.
The controversy comes as security agencies continue investigations into people allegedly connected to the Ghana Jollof account, with another woman, Efya Royal, also having been arrested earlier in September over allegations that she shared content originally published by the account. She was subsequently granted GH¢20,000 police enquiry bail.
