Police say phone and mobile money records show influential backers behind Ghana Jollof account

Pinned summary · as of 16:45

Ghana's police say forensic checks on seized phones and mobile money records point to influential people funding a TikTok account known as Ghana Jollof. COP Lydia Donkor, Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), addressed reporters in Accra on Friday, 18 September 2026.

What we know

• COP Lydia Donkor told a media briefing in Accra on Friday, 18 September 2026, that police examined audio, video and mobile money data and found that highly influential people sent large sums to a woman named Salomey, who in turn passed money to the person behind Ghana Jollof.
• Police say they know who the high-profile financiers are, based on what was recovered from the phones. “We know the high-profile persons funding them, from the phones,” Ms Donkor said.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  GhPage reported that the police chief did not disclose who the influential people are. Onua Online's account of the briefing does not say whether any names were given, and no financier has been identified or charged.
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  Onua Online reported that police named the account owner as Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, believed to be in the United Kingdom, and alleged that she posted videos with inflammatory content, including a false claim of a near coup at the Jubilee House. These are police allegations reported by one publication; no response from her is included.
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  According to Onua Online, police arrested Salomey Awiti Bafoh, described as a nurse living in Techiman, on 17 September 2026 with the help of the National Signals Bureau. A court heard a charge of abetting the publication of false news against her and remanded her into police custody to reappear on 30 September 2026. Police allege she recruited others to circulate the videos. She is a suspect and has not been convicted, and no other report confirms these details.
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  Onua Online said police allege money was sent from the UK to Ms Bafoh, who passed portions on to people who shared the videos, and that the two women admitted in audio interviews to being friends. Police also said transcripts of the recovered material will be presented in court. None of this has been confirmed by other reports.
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  Police told Onua Online that investigations continue to find others who spread the videos and the backers of the account, and that publications breaching Act 772 (the Electronic Transaction Act) or Act 29 (the Criminal and Other Offences Act) will be prosecuted as offences.

Why it matters for Ghana

The case touches on how far police will go against posts they judge to be false or capable of provoking violence, a question for anyone who shares or forwards content on TikTok, WhatsApp and other platforms in Ghana. Police say the money trail runs through mobile money, so ordinary account holders may draw scrutiny when transfers are linked to online activity. Because the alleged backers have not been named or charged, the claim remains untested in court.