On August 12, 2025, the Ghana Police Service arrested TikTok content creators Prince Ofori and Yayra Abiwu who are popularly known as Fante Comedy and Akosua Jollof respectively.
On August 11, Fante Comedy hosted a live TikTok session during which participants, including Akosua Jollof, openly mocked the victims of the recent unfortunate helicopter crash and wished that the CEO of Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, and President John Mahama had also been victims of the crash.
Their commentary and threat followed the tragic loss of eight state officials who died in a helicopter crash around Obuasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
In a Facebook post, the Ghana Police Service confirmed the arrest of the two individuals who are also assisting the law enforcement body’s ongoing investigations that will help identify and arrest other individuals believed to be connected to the viral video to assist the investigation.
On August 13, Fante Comedy was granted bail of GH¢100,000 with three sureties, two of whom must be gainfully employed. He is also required to surrender his passport to the police until further notice. He, however, remained in custody for failing to meet the bail conditions.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) strongly condemns the conduct of the content creators and other participants in the TikTok live session for the reprehensible remarks made.
Ghana’s 1992 Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and media freedom, freedoms the MFWA defends for constructive reasons, such as ensuring an open and healthy civic space that contributes to governance processes, demanding transparency and accountability in government, encouraging civic participation in governance, and promoting the creation, sharing, and distribution of information for various purposes, including personal development.
The MFWA, therefore, calls on all netizens in Ghana and West Africa to uphold the right to expression as sacred and use it responsibly to sustain the relatively nascent democracies in the region and for the overall development of all.
