Senior Fellow at Africa Policy Lens Dr Joshua Jebuntie Zaato warned that the state’s handling of the Ghana Jollof case has inadvertently given the platform significant publicity. The arrest of senior nursing officer Salomey Awity Baffoe on charges of abetment of crime for content linked to the Ghana Jollof TikTok account has sparked a surge in interest in the site.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, September 26, Dr Zaato said the publicity surrounding the case was creating opportunities for other social media users to produce commentary and content around Ghana Jollof, with some seeking to monetise the attention. He urged security agencies to better understand Gen Z behaviour on social media, where users are willing to push boundaries to gain visibility.
Dr Zaato cautioned against relying solely on arrests and prosecution to deal with controversial online content, arguing that such actions could create “martyrs” and encourage copycat behaviour. He urged authorities to develop strategies that address the motivations behind provocative online content rather than relying only on arrests.
“The day they arrested this woman on the page of Ghana Jollof, the numbers spiked in such a way that everyone was like, ‘Wow.’ So, the biggest promotion to the Ghana Jollof website was done by the state—the same state that is trying to capture her,” he said. “That is why right now, you’ve seen that people are trying to feed off Ghana Jollof. People will immerse themselves in her videos; they are giving commentary. Everybody is now trying to get a piece of Ghana Jollof because they can monetise that piece to make money.”
