Former Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah, has questioned the silence of civil society organisations, the media, professional bodies and religious leaders over the arrest and remand of Senior Nursing Officer Salomey Awity Baffoe.
Prof. Addai-Mensah, who served as KATH CEO from 2022 until 2025, raised the concerns in a Facebook post titled “The Deafening Silence of Ghana’s Complicit Watchdogs.”
His comments follow the arrest of the 40-year-old nurse, who was remanded for two weeks by the Adenta Circuit Court 1 over alleged links to the anonymous “Ghana Jollof” TikTok account, which has been critical of government officials.
Baffoe was arrested at her home in Hansua in the Techiman Municipality on September 13, 2026. Her family has alleged that three people who identified themselves as National Security operatives took her away at about 11:30 p.m.
According to the prosecution, Baffoe allegedly acted as a liaison for the person behind the “Ghana Jollof” account and assisted in disseminating content. She has pleaded not guilty to a charge of abetment of the publication of false news under Sections 20(1) and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act. The allegations have not been proven in court.
It is the circumstances surrounding the case that have prompted Prof. Addai-Mensah’s strongest criticism.
“This is not law enforcement. This is theater. And the watchdogs are watching silently,” he wrote.
He questioned the response of institutions that, in his view, would ordinarily be expected to speak on matters concerning civil liberties and the exercise of executive power.
“Where are the Civil Society Organizations, the Media Houses, the GRNMA, The Ghana Bar Association and THE CLERGY who once mounted rooftops and shouted at the slightest hint of executive overreach?” he asked.
Prof. Addai-Mensah also cited figures from the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), which says it recorded 14 arrests linked to the application of Section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act and Section 208, sometimes alongside Section 207, of the Criminal Offences Act within the first 16 months of the current administration. The MFWA says this compares with eight such arrests recorded during the entire eight-year tenure of the previous administration.
The former KATH CEO argued that the figures, together with the Baffoe case, warranted greater scrutiny from institutions he described as Ghana’s democratic “watchdogs”.
His concerns come as other legal voices have also questioned aspects of the case. Lawyer Martin Kpebu has argued that investigators could secure and examine Baffoe’s phone without keeping her in custody for two weeks, while her lawyer, Enoch Afuakwa, has challenged the period between her arrest and appearance before court.
Prof. Addai-Mensah concluded his post with a broader warning about the role of institutions that monitor the exercise of public power.
“A democracy cannot survive when its watchdogs switch off their lights the moment the political atmosphere turns dark,” he wrote.
Source: Purefmonlinegh.com || 2026
