A 38-year-old TikToker and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Branch Organiser for Agona West, Prince Aboagye, has been arrested and remanded into custody over alleged offensive remarks made against former Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in a video posted on TikTok.
According to the Ghana Police Service, its attention was drawn on July 18, 2026 to a viral TikTok video in which Prince Aboagye was allegedly seen and heard making offensive and insulting remarks about the former Vice President.
Following preliminary investigations, officers from the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) arrested the suspect on July 19, 2026 in connection with the matter.
The Police said that during his caution statement, Aboagye admitted to making the statements contained in the video. He was subsequently charged and arraigned before Accra Circuit Court 2 on July 20, 2026.
The court granted him bail in the sum of GH¢200,000 with three sureties, one of whom must justify the bail with landed property.
However, the accused was unable to satisfy the bail conditions and has since been remanded into police custody pending the fulfilment of the requirements.
He has been charged with offensive conduct condusive to breach the peace and publication of false news.
The case has been adjourned to August 19, 2026 for further proceedings.
Meanwhile, at the time of going to press, former Vice President and 2028 New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, had distanced himself from the prosecution of the NDC Agona West organiser, insisting that he neither initiated nor authorised the legal action.
In a statement issued yesterday by his Communications Directorate, Dr. Bawumia said he had not lodged any complaint with the Ghana Police Service or sanctioned the arrest and prosecution of the suspect over alleged offensive comments and the publication of false news about him.
The statement followed the arrest and arraignment of the NDC organiser, who is facing charges in connection with comments allegedly made against the former Vice President.
Dr. Bawumia stated that he does not support the use of state institutions to prosecute citizens for expressing views about him, adding that throughout his public life he had been subjected to insults and false allegations without resorting to criminal proceedings.
He argued that offensive speech should be answered with better speech, while falsehoods should be countered with the truth rather than “handcuffs, courtrooms and crushing bail conditions imposed on ordinary Ghanaians.”
He, therefore, called on the Ghana Police Service and the Attorney-General to discontinue the prosecution and any similar actions purportedly undertaken in his name, and appealed for the immediate release of the accused to return to his family and livelihood.
According to Dr. Bawumia, Ghana’s democracy is strengthened when citizens, including political opponents are able to express their views freely without fear of prosecution.
He said he had forgiven the accused, wished him well and urged political actors to focus on issues that directly affect the lives of Ghanaians, instead of engaging in personal attacks.
For more news, join The Chronicle Newspaper channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBSs55E50UqNPvSOm2z
