Omanghana
New Patriotic Party flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has condemned the arrest and two-week remand of a senior nursing officer accused of having links to the politically critical TikTok account known as “Ghana Jollof.”
In a social media statement issued on September 18, 2026, Dr Bawumia described the circumstances surrounding the detention of Salomey Awity Bafoh as deeply concerning.
“This is not the Ghana we want to build,” he stated, while calling for the nurse’s release and criticising what he described as the use of state security institutions to pursue citizens over political commentary.
Mrs Bafoh, a 40-year-old mother of three from Hansua near Techiman, was reportedly arrested during a late-night operation on September 13 by persons believed to be National Security operatives.
Her family reportedly struggled to establish her whereabouts until she appeared before the Adentan Circuit Court on September 17. The court subsequently remanded her into custody for two weeks.
The Police Criminal Investigations Department has identified Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, who is believed to be living in the United Kingdom, as the person allegedly behind the “Ghana Jollof” account.
Mrs Bafoh has been charged with abetment of crime in connection with the alleged publication of false news. She has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Prosecutors allege that the nursing officer acted as a local contact for Ms Kodua by using her mobile phone and mobile money accounts to receive funds. They further claim that she recruited other people to circulate videos targeting government officials.
The allegations against Mrs Bafoh have not been proven, and she remains presumed innocent unless found guilty by a court.
Dr Bawumia said intelligence and security agencies should not be deployed to pursue people merely for insulting or criticising public officials. He pledged that such institutions would not be used for that purpose under his leadership.
His senior aide, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has also questioned the specific offence allegedly committed by the nurse and the justification for keeping her in custody while the person identified as the account’s operator remains abroad.
Mrs Bafoh’s lawyer, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, who is also a Member of Parliament, has similarly challenged the legal basis for her continued detention.
The case has generated a wider national debate about freedom of expression, political criticism and the conduct of security agencies.
Officials and representatives of the governing National Democratic Congress have rejected Dr Bawumia’s criticism. National Petroleum Authority Chief Executive Godwin Edudzi Tameklo accused him of hypocrisy and described his intervention as “archaic politics.”
Some government-aligned commentators have also claimed that forensic evidence connects the suspects to the account and alleged that prominent opposition figures may be financing its activities. Those claims have not been independently established in court.
Source: Omanghana
