'I had zero interest in him' – Academic who accused late Prof Arday of plagiarism speaks

Academic who accused the late Ghanaian-British Prof Arday of plagiarism speaks Nathan Cofnas, a self-defined "race realist" academic who accused the late Ghanaian-British Cambridge Professor Jason Arday of plagiarism, has spoken out for the first time. Speaking in an interview on Al Jazeera, shared on social media on August 24, 2026, Nathan Cofnas refused to accept responsibility for Professor Arday’s death. “I did take an action which set off a series of events that led to a tragic outcome. If I say that I'm not responsible, then it sounds like kind of I don't appreciate the consequences of what happened. If I say I am responsible, I mean, what are the implications of that?” he asked. The self-defined "race realist" academic indicated that he had no issue with the late Prof Arday, suggesting that his only issue was with Cambridge University. “You have to be allowed to critique such people, even if there is some risk that they will take it the wrong way or feel very bad about it. I had zero interest in Jason Arday. I had no ill will for him. I wanted him to stay professor and live his best life. “This was about DEI and Cambridge. Arday was just incidental to that,” he added. Nathan Cofnas, who has now been suspended from his university, Ghent University, said he has been receiving death threats following the demise of Prof Arday, who was found dead at his home. The British-born Ghanaian academic, who holds the record as the youngest Black professor at the prestigious University of Cambridge, was reported dead on August 15, 2026. According to reports, Professor Jason Arday, who recently resigned as a Cambridge professor of sociology of education after allegations of plagiarism and questions about some of his achievements, was found dead. A report by the BBC indicated that the academic, who was born to Ghanaian parents, was found "unresponsive" at an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday afternoon by emergency service officials. It was stated in the report that police officers from the Metropolitan Police of London were called to the scene of the incident by the London Ambulance Service. The officers were reported to have indicated that the death of the academic was somewhat suspicious. "At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious," the police were quoted as saying. The report further stated that the family of Prof Arday, in a statement issued about his demise, said they were "in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son". "The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone," the family added. Academic who accused British-Ghanaian Professor Arday of plagiarism suspended by university Professor Arday, before his demise, denied all allegations of plagiarism despite admitting that there were some errors in his work. He is reported to have said that the brouhaha surrounding the issues has led to "an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack". In March 2023, the University of Cambridge announced Jason Arday's appointment as Professor of Sociology of Education in the Faculty of Education. The appointment made him the sixth Black professor at Cambridge at the time and the youngest Black professor ever appointed by the university. Watch a video of his remarks below: BAI/VPO 'Legal vacation doesn't mean judges cannot sit' – CJ Baffoe-Bonnie explains Source: www.ghanaweb.com
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