A social media content creator with a known opposition political affiliation has been taken into custody after viral videos showed her threatening the life of the Ghanaian head of state President Mahama and calling on others to harm him and the First Lady raising fresh questions about the boundaries of online expression in Ghana.
The Inspector-General of Police’s Cyber Vetting and Enforcement Team (CVET) has arrested a woman identified as Mahama Aminat, also known as Akosua Serwaa Minat, for allegedly issuing threats against President John Dramani Mahama in videos circulated on social media.
According to a police statement, the suspect appeared in videos posted on TikTok making insulting remarks about the President and allegedly threatening his life. The videos also allegedly contained statements encouraging others to harm the President and the First Lady.
A joint operation involving officers from the CVET and the Surveillance Unit of the National Operations Department was launched on May 19, 2026, following the circulation of the videos. The suspect was subsequently arrested on May 20, 2026, at Sekyere Zongo in the Sekyere Kumawu District of the Ashanti Region.
The suspect is a popular NPP-aligned content creator, identified as Mahama Aminat, also known as Akosua Serwaa Minat and known on TikTok by the handle “Bawumia Ba.” According to the police statement released on Thursday, May 21, the TikToker and political commentator was arrested for threatening the life of President John Dramani Mahama and his wife, Lordina Mahama.
The irony of a suspect sharing a surname with the sitting president and operating under the TikTok alias “Bawumia Ba,” a reference to the opposition New Patriotic Party’s former vice president has not been lost on Ghanaian social media, where the arrest has generated significant commentary across political lines.
Following her arrest, Mahama Aminat was granted bail to the sum of GH¢1 million with two sureties by the court. As part of the bail conditions, one of the sureties must be a civil servant earning not less than GH¢5,000 monthly. The court also directed her to surrender either her passport or Ghana Card to the police and to report regularly to investigators.
The severity of the bail conditions reflects the gravity with which Ghanaian authorities have treated the case, particularly given that the alleged threats were directed at a sitting head of state.
The arrest has triggered a broader national conversation in Ghana about the limits of free expression in the digital age. While Ghana has a longstanding reputation as one of West Africa’s most robust democracies with a tradition of vigorous political debate and press freedom, authorities have made clear that online threats even those made in the heat of partisan commentary will be treated as criminal offences.
The arrest has come amid growing national debate over free speech and online expression in Ghana. Civil liberties advocates have cautioned that the deployment of specialised cyber enforcement units to track and detain social media users could have a chilling effect on legitimate political dissent, while law enforcement officials and government supporters have maintained that incitement to violence against a head of state falls well outside the protections of free expression under any framework.
Ghana’s political atmosphere has remained charged since the National Democratic Congress (NDC) returned to power under President Mahama following the December 2024 general elections. The NPP, now in opposition, has struggled to recalibrate, and the online space has in some quarters become a theatre for increasingly intemperate rhetoric from supporters on both sides.
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The suspect is currently in custody pending her appearance in court. No trial date has yet been announced.
The Ghana Police Service has not publicly commented on whether further arrests related to similar online content are anticipated.
