Editorial Team/Staff Writers
A Ghanaian TikToker who shared videos alleging that President John Mahama sacrificed 32 cows as part of a ritual to help him win the 2024 general election has been sentenced to a year in prison, the BBC reported.
Camilla Alhassan, aged 43, pleaded guilty to charges of offensive conduct and publication of false news.
According to BBC, the judge turned down an appeal for a lighter punishment on the grounds that one year in prison would discourage similar conduct.
Mr Mahama led Ghana from 2012 to 2017 and returned to the presidency after defeating Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia in the 2024 election.
Ms Alhassan also alleged that a government initiative to distribute sanitary pads to recent flood victims was an attempt to conceal what she claimed the president had done.
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Prosecutors had argued that Ms Alhassan, who has more than 70,000 followers on TikTok, had made a series of false and defamatory allegations against the president.
Ms Alhassan’s videos were widely shared, leading to her arrest earlier this month and sparking renewed debate in Ghana about misinformation on social media and how to strike the balance between criminal sanctions and freedom of expression, the BBC reported.
She is the second Ghanaian influential TikToker to face legal action after popular TikToker David Kwodwo Prah Afful, known as Kwame Nkrumah II, was sentenced last September to seven months in prison for making a death threat and producing offensive conduct conducive to a breach of the peace.
He had threatened to kill Mr Mahama and members of parliament in a viral video.
Last year, the president said that his government was considering ways to “sanitise” social media, instructing the authorities to track down and arrest those spreading misinformation and disinformation.
“I’m sending a signal to Ghanaians that if you peddle falsehood, hate speech and make utterances to cause fear and panic, we will find you,” he told a press conference.
A year ago, Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George announced plans to introduce legislation to combat the issue.
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The proposed law would create a legal framework for enforcement while seeking to safeguard free speech.
Ghana is widely regarded as one of West Africa’s strongest democracies, with constitutional protections for freedom of expression and a vibrant media landscape.
However, the BBC reported, concerns have grown in recent years over the spread of false information on social media, prompting calls for stronger regulation while rights groups warn against measures that could restrict free speech.
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