Afenyo-Markin urges Mahama to pardon jailed TikToker Camilla Alhassan

Ghana Crimes

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has asked President John Dramani Mahama to pardon Camilla Alhassan, the TikToker serving a one-year prison sentence over videos she posted about the President, and has called for the repeal of two speech-related criminal provisions.

Speaking at the 30th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra on Saturday, 7 November 2026, the Effutu MP said: “I appeal to the president to consider pardoning Camilla Alhassan.”

He also called for the repeal of Section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), which criminalises publishing false statements likely to cause fear and alarm, and Section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775). He argued that the provisions were being used to criminalise free expression and suppress dissent, and that false publications and defamation could instead be dealt with through civil remedies such as retractions, apologies and compensation.

“Our purpose as a Minority is not to defend irresponsible speech. We do not defend lies. We do not defend hate speech.

We do not defend incitement,” he said, as quoted. “The answer to bad speech must not always be the criminal law.”

Ms Alhassan, 43, was sentenced by an Accra Circuit Court on 16 July 2026 to one year’s imprisonment with hard labour after pleading guilty to offensive conduct conducive to a breach of the peace at the time. The case arose from TikTok videos containing derogatory remarks about the President and his wife, Lordina Mahama.

Her lawyer, Kwadwo Gyamfi-Bonsu, told journalists after the ruling that a separate charge had been struck out on jurisdictional grounds.

The presidency had not publicly responded to the pardon appeal in the reports reviewed by GhanaCrimes. Under Article 72 of the Constitution, the President may grant a pardon to a convicted person acting in consultation with the Council of State.