Dr Adam Bonaa, Executive Secretary of the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, has questioned why the person or persons behind the “Ghana Jollof” TikTok page are allegedly avoiding the authorities after a coup d’état claim circulated on social media. He said anyone making such statements should be ready to stand behind them in public.
Bonaa spoke on The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV on Monday, October 19, 2026. He said Ghana’s history of coups, and the brutality Ghanaians suffered through them, should discourage anyone from treating such events as material for jokes.
“I saw friends’ fathers shot point-blank”
Bonaa drew on his own memories to make the point. He grew up in Tema during an era associated with military takeovers and said he witnessed how coups affected families and communities. The experience, he said, was painful, and people who never lived through it may not fully understand the consequences.
“I mean, I lived in the days of coups… I saw friends’ fathers were shot point-blank range. It’s not someone telling me. I grew up and lived in Tema, in the days of the coup,” he said.
His message was aimed at a generation that knows those years only through stories, and he warned that casual talk about coups can trivialise a period of real suffering.
“Do they hide behind the curtains?”
Bonaa asked why anyone would conceal their identity if their remarks about a coup were meant to be harmless. He compared the situation with that of stage comedians, who joke about public figures and even about tribes in full view of their audiences.
“If it’s a harmless joke, do you see those entertainers who mount a platform to do comedy; do they hide behind the curtains?” he asked.
He argued that people should be willing to identify themselves when they make such comments, particularly if security agencies need to question them. “If you have nothing to hide, why do you do it behind the scene? Your address should be known…,” he said.
Concern over public support
Bonaa also voiced worry that some people were backing the page’s claims. For him, the reaction raised a wider question about the state of public discourse.
“So, when you hear people like Ghana Jollof say coup, this and that, and you have people support that assertion, I ask myself, are we in some banana republic?” he asked.
Police declare suspect wanted
The comments come as the Ghana Police Service has declared Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, believed to be behind the Ghana Jollof TikTok account, wanted. An earlier GhanaWeb report said the person behind the account had reportedly been traced to the United Kingdom.
The case has had several strands. In a separate development reported by GhanaWeb, Salomey Baffoe was granted GH¢100,000 bail in connection with the “Ghana Jollof” matter. Earlier this month, Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah filed a civil suit against Akwatia MP Bernard Bediako Baidoo and broadcaster Abubakar Alhassan, known as Blakk Rasta, over alleged falsehoods about him, while alleging that two women were being held by state security agents. The authorities have not been reported to have confirmed his characterisation of the detentions.
What remains unclear
Bonaa’s remarks reflect his own view and do not amount to any finding by a court. As reported, the allegations against the person or persons behind the page remain claims, and the police declaration that Kodua is wanted does not establish guilt. It is also not clear from the report what exactly the page said, or what charges, if any, are being considered.
What the remarks do show is how seriously some officials treat any talk of unconstitutional takeovers in a country that has lived through them. For Bonaa, that history is reason enough for anyone speaking on the subject to do so openly and be ready to answer questions from the authorities.