Bawumia demands release of nurse remanded over alleged false-news publication

The New Patriotic Party’s 2028 flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has called for the release of a Techiman-based nurse remanded over allegations of abetting the publication of false news.

Salomey Bafor Awiti, a mother of three, was remanded for two weeks after being accused of having links to the anonymous “Ghana Jollof” social media account.

A London-based Ghanaian nurse, Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, has subsequently been declared wanted after being identified as the alleged operator of the account.

In a Facebook post on Friday, September, Dr Bawumia expressed concern over reports that intelligence officers arrested Mrs Awiti during the night before she was taken to court and remanded.

“This is not the Ghana we want to build,” the former vice-president said.

Dr Bawumia argued that the case raised wider concerns about freedom of expression and the use of state security agencies in dealing with speech directed at political leaders and other public figures.

He said that, if elected president, he would not allow intelligence agencies to be used to pursue citizens for insulting the president or other individuals.

“I can assure Ghanaians that when given the opportunity, our intelligence agencies will not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or anyone else,” he wrote.

Dr Bawumia said he remained opposed to insulting language in Ghanaian politics and urged both political actors and citizens to conduct themselves with decorum.

“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 said.

However, he argued that opposition to abusive or insulting speech should not be used to restrict legitimate expression.

“Free speech, as unpalatable as it may be sometimes, is the foundation of our democracy,” he said, warning that any infringement of that right could reverse Ghana’s democratic progress.

Dr Bawumia also accused the government of applying the law selectively, claiming that some people were able to make insulting comments without facing legal action while others were arrested depending on the targets of their remarks.

“Some citizens can insult and walk freely and others are jailed because the government doesn’t like the target of their insults,” he stated.

Dr Bawumia called for the release of Mrs Awiti and others facing what he described as similar charges.

“Please release Salomey Bafor Awiti and others who have been similarly charged and jailed,” he said.

Mrs Awiti has been remanded, meaning she remains in custody while the case proceeds; the supplied information does not indicate that she has been tried or convicted.

Details of the specific publication at the centre of the case, the evidence allegedly linking Mrs Awiti to the account, and the date of her next court appearance were also not provided.