Bernard Baidoo explains why Ghana Jollof case is not about treason

Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Bernard Bediako Baidoo, has rejected the suggestion that the Ghana Jollof case should be treated as a treason matter, saying the alleged offences being discussed have a different legal threshold.

Bernard Baidoo said the Ghana Jollof case, as he understands it, concerns alleged offensive conduct and publication of false news rather than treason.

“The lady has not been arrested and investigated on a charge of treason,” he said during Newsfile on JoyNews.

He said this distinction was important because a person facing a treason allegation would have to meet a much higher threshold.

“I’m not too sure whether there was a charge in respect of treason. That is where we have a problem because there is a threshold to meet if you really want to prosecute someone on that charge,” he said.

Bernard Baidoo said even if some of the statements being discussed could raise questions about treason, charging a person under Sections 207 and 208 would involve different legal considerations.

“And that is why it is a misdemeanour,” he said.

He added, “So it is not treason. It is offensive conduct of false publication. That is what we are talking about.”

The police have said their investigation concerns alleged publication of false news, inciting comments and offensive conduct linked to the Ghana Jollof account.

Salomey Awiti Baffoe has been charged with abetment of crime, to wit publication of false news.

Bernard Baidoo’s argument was therefore that the discussion should focus on the specific offences under investigation rather than treating the case as a prosecution for treason.