Arrest of Techiman nurse is purely political persecution – ‘Ghana Jollof’

Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, popularly known as ‘Ghana Jollof’, has described the arrest and prosecution of a 40-year-old senior nursing officer from Techiman as “purely political persecution”.

Ms Kodua made the claim after the arrest of Salomey Awiti Baffoe, who is accused by the police of helping to circulate videos allegedly produced by the UK-based operator of the “Ghana Jollof” TikTok account.

Ms Baffoe, a mother of three, was arrested at her home in Hansua, near Techiman, on September 13 and later brought before the Adentan Circuit Court in Accra.

She has been charged with abetment of crime, specifically the alleged publication and circulation of false news, contrary to Sections 20(1) and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). She has pleaded not guilty.

According to the prosecution, Ms Baffoe allegedly acted as a liaison for Ghana Jollof and helped recruit other people to redistribute videos produced by her.

The police also allege that Ghana Jollof transferred money to Ms Baffoe to support the activities, with portions of the money allegedly distributed to others involved in circulating the videos. These allegations are before the court and have not been established.

Ms Kodua, however, insists that Ms Baffoe has been wrongly targeted and says the arrest is politically motivated.

Reacting to the arrest and the allegations against Ms Baffoe, Ms Kodua (Ghana Jollof) questioned whether the law was being applied equally to people on different sides of Ghana’s political divide.

“What will let you know that it’s political persecution. The things that you claim the person has said, has any member of your government said those exact words before, and nothing has been done to the person?” she asked.

She referred to comments she attributed to a social commentator and blogger, Kevin Taylor, saying that similar statements should also have attracted the attention of the security agencies.

“I have a video where Kevin Taylor said that after 10 days of swearing in Mahama, he will make sure that the laws don’t work in the country,” Kodua claimed.

“So the claims by Kevin Taylor are also equal to a coup. A country that has no laws is a coup d’état. Yet still, the security protected him. We have legal experts who have documented this.”

Ms Kodua has further alleged that Ms Baffoe is being targeted because of her husband’s political activities.

“They know that her husband is an NPP communication director (Chicago branch, US) and they want to frustrate the wife,” she said.

“She’s not active on Facebook and other social media platforms. Check the name they used to arrest her. She’s not even someone who shares videos.”

She said that Ms Baffoe herself was not a politician.

“He’s the one who is an active politician; the wife isn’t a politician,” Kodua said, referring to the nurse’s husband.

Ms Kodua has rejected that allegation and questioned what evidence the police have that Ms Baffoe shared her videos.

“The police don’t have any charge against this woman. But they want to force and find a charge against her,” she alleged.

“Since the day the Police arrested her, how many charges have they issued against her?”

She further said that Ms Baffoe was not an active social media user and had no reason to be connected to the “Ghana Jollof” account.

“When you listen to the interview granted by the nurse’s husband, he said that the wife does not even have a social media account,” Kodua said.

“And it’s true because the name they used to arrest her, Salomey Awuti Baffour, when you search for that name on TikTok, check and see if she had ever posted my video or shared my video before.”

Kodua also disputed the suggestion that Baffoe had a personal relationship with her.

“And mind you, this lady isn’t someone who even knows me,” she said.

Ghana jollof nim nyansa too much.
GP go and sleep wai.

— robert osei (@kctass) September 19, 2026

Ms Kodua also questioned the progression of the case, claiming that the allegation against Ms Baffoe changed after her arrest.

“When the police first arrested her, they said she connived with me to stage a coup d’état to overthrow the government. That was the first charge they brought,” she said.

“When they took her to court, they abandoned that charge and said that now she has partnered with me to share false information.”

She insisted that the authorities had not demonstrated that Ms Baffoe personally shared her videos.

“But there’s no evidence to show that the lady has shared my video with someone,” Kodua said.

The police, however, have presented a different account.

According to the prosecution’s brief, Baffoe allegedly served as a liaison for Ms Kodua, helped recruit others to redistribute the videos and received money which was allegedly passed on to other people involved in circulating the content.

Ms Kodua also criticised the manner in which Baffoe was arrested, saying her treatment amounted to violations of her rights.

“The way they have handled this lady (nurse), it’s against the law, it’s against human rights, it’s against child protection,” she said.

“A whole government goes to arrest someone, and there are documentaries showing that when she was arrested, she left behind her children, and when you took her away, you failed to let her family know her whereabouts,” she said in an interview.

Read also: Senior nursing officer remanded for 2 weeks over alleged links to ‘Ghana Jollof’ TikTok Account