By Nadia Ntiamoah
The arrest and prosecution of several social media personalities and activists over alleged threats, offensive publications and false information have triggered renewed debate in Ghana over the limits of online expression and the use of criminal law to deal with social media content.
One of the earlier cases involved TikTok personality David Kwodwo Prah Afful, popularly known as Kwame Nkrumah the Second.
He was arrested on September 13, 2025, during an intelligence-led police operation at a hideout near the Kasoa Market following a viral TikTok livestream.
Police said he had threatened to kill government officials, journalists and civil servants using guns or cutlasses, while also threatening to burn marketplaces and encouraging followers to engage in similar acts. He was subsequently charged with threat of death under Section 75 of the Criminal Offences Act, offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace and allegations relating to incitement of violence.
Afful was arraigned before the Accra Circuit Court on September 15, 2025, where he pleaded guilty and asked for forgiveness, describing his conduct as reckless and regrettable. On September 17, 2025, the court sentenced him to seven months’ imprisonment at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, with the judge indicating that the punishment was intended to deter threats made through social media.
Police subsequently clarified that Afful was not an NPP activist but a neutral TikTok personality. The NPP, however, later cited the case in arguments about what it described as selective enforcement against social media users.
A similar case involved 43-year-old Camilla Alhassan, a TikToker from the Awutu Senya East Constituency with more than 70,000 followers. She was arrested on July 9, 2026, in an intelligence-led operation involving the Police and National Signals Bureau.
Prosecutors accused her of publishing a series of TikTok videos following the June 2026 floods and fire outbreaks, including claims that President John Dramani Mahama had sacrificed 32 cows to secure political power. She was also accused of making death threats against the President and First Lady Lordina Mahama.
Alhassan pleaded guilty to offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace. The court declined jurisdiction over the false-news charge, prompting police to prepare a separate High Court case. After a pregnancy claim was tested and found negative, the court sentenced her on July 16, 2026, to one year’s imprisonment with hard labour.
The controversy has intensified with the emergence of what has been described as the “Ghana Jollof” crackdown.
Efya Royal was arrested after allegedly sharing content originally posted by the anonymous TikToker known as Ghana Jollof. She was later granted GH¢20,000 police enquiry bail.
A nurse, Salomey Awitty Baffoe, from Techiman, was also arrested in September 2026 and arraigned at the Adenta Circuit Court. Prosecutors allege that she acted as a liaison for Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, identified by police as the person behind the Ghana Jollof account, and helped redistribute material considered offensive or capable of inciting violence.
Salomey has been remanded for two weeks while investigations continue. Her defence has disputed aspects of the prosecution’s case, while supporters have questioned the circumstances of her arrest. The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association has also engaged with police over her custody.
Police have meanwhile declared Barbara Asantewaa Kodua suspected to be Ghana Jollof wanted, alleging that she is outside Ghana and connected to publications involving threats and incitement. The account has reportedly continued posting content, a development that has become central to arguments from the NPP, which has questioned whether Salomey was correctly identified as a collaborator.
NPP Deputy General Secretary Haruna Mohammed has called for Salomey’s release, while Akosua Manu has raised concerns about the impact of arrests on women and children who depend on them.
The NPP has also compiled a broader list of people it says have faced arrests, investigations or other security action over social media activity, including David Essandoh, Fante Comedy, AY, Sir-Obama Pokuase, Abubakar Yakubu, Alfred Ababio Kumi, Kwame Baffoe, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, John Ntim Fordjour, Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah and others.
The cases have consequently become part of a wider political and legal argument over whether Ghana’s existing laws are being applied consistently to online speech. While authorities have maintained that threats, incitement and false communications can attract criminal consequences, critics argue that enforcement must also respect due process and freedom of expression.
The ongoing prosecutions are therefore placing Ghana’s social-media landscape at the centre of a continuing debate over where legitimate political expression ends and criminal conduct begins.
