On Friday, September 18, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the flag‑bearer of the New Patriotic Party, condemned the arrest and remand of Salomey Bafor Awiti, a nurse and mother of three from Techiman, over an alleged connection to the anonymous “Ghana Jollof” social media account.
Bawumia said the nurse was seized in the middle of the night by national intelligence officers and subsequently remanded for two weeks, a move he described as “worrying” and indicative of a broader problem with the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in Ghana.
He warned that “when given the opportunity, our intelligence agencies will not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or anyone else.” Bawumia added that the selective application of laws was “even more worrying,” noting that some citizens can insult and walk freely while others are jailed because the government dislikes the target of their insults.
Salomey was alleged to be linked to the “Ghana Jollof” account, and a London‑based Ghanaian nurse, Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, was later declared wanted as the alleged operator of the account.
Bawumia reiterated his opposition to insults in political discourse, urging all political actors and citizens to engage respectfully. He said, “I have always disavowed a politics of insults and will remind all in the political space of the need to be decorous. The ideas we need to transform our nation won’t come from insults.” He also warned that any infringement on the right to free speech “pushes our democracy backwards.”
As the case develops, observers will watch whether the government’s actions against Salomey and other alleged “Ghana Jollof” users signal a broader crackdown on dissent or a targeted response to a specific individual.
