TikToker in court over alleged false claims about top government officials

A 41-year-old trader, Belinda Bosompimaa, is facing legal action after being dragged before the Accra Circuit Court for allegedly spreading false information on social media about a plot to poison Ghana’s Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang.

According to prosecutors, Bosompimaa made the unverified claims through her TikTok account, @ben.ben, alleging that certain members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) were plotting to harm the Vice President.

Appearing before Judge Kwabena Kodua Obiri Yeboah, Bosompimaa pleaded not guilty to the charge of publishing false news and was granted bail to the tune of GH¢50,000 with two sureties. The judge noted that her mobile devices had already been seized, and a separate ex parte application had been filed by the police to access the contents.

The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Maalo Jacob Kuubal, opposed the bail, arguing that Bosompimaa could delete or tamper with critical evidence if released. However, her defence team countered that she had been kept in custody for more than 96 hours—well beyond the 48-hour constitutional limit—and appealed for bail on humanitarian grounds, citing that she is the primary caregiver for her two children and an ailing mother in Kumasi.

The court heard that the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) had intercepted several of Bosompimaa’s posts in late June 2025, including shocking claims that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had no biological daughter and had adopted Farida Mahama due to his wife’s alleged infertility from a past abortion.

Even more alarmingly, Bosompimaa reportedly alleged that the Chief of Staff, Mr. Julius Debrah, and other top officials were involved in a plot to assassinate the Vice President.

She was arrested in Kumasi on June 26 and admitted to posting the content, although she claimed it was merely a repost of material from other TikTok users, specifically “Ghana Jollof Still Osama” and “Obaa Tiwah Vimpower.”

The case has been adjourned to July 17, 2025, for further mention.