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Claim: A viral post circulating on social media claims that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has officially sacked US-based journalist Kevin Taylor and its Deputy Communications Director, Ernest Owusu Bempah.
Verdict: False! The document is forged. There is no evidence that the NPP has dismissed either of the individuals. Kevin Taylor himself has also shared the claim in a manner suggesting satire, further indicating it is not an authentic party action.
Full Text
A purported New Patriotic Party (NPP) communiqué announcing the dismissal of Kevin Taylor and Ernest Owusu Bempah has gone viral on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), generating debate and confusion.
The document, which mimics the format of an official party release and is attributed to the party’s General Secretary, has been widely circulated as genuine.
Popular news website Ghanaweb fuelled the claim that the NPP had sacked Kevin Taylor and Owusu Bempah.
Additionally, Kevin Taylor, named in the alleged dismissal, has shared the claim on his social media page, in a tone suggesting he is mocking or ridiculing the narrative.
DUBAWA checked the official social media handles of the supposed signatories to fact-check the claim.
Verification
A side-by-side comparison between the viral post and authentic party communiques reveals a clear attempt at forgery:
- The Signature: The signature on the viral post does not match Justin Kodua’s actual signature. In authentic documents, his signature has distinct stroke patterns and positioning that are missing or poorly imitated in the fake version.
- Letterhead and Formatting: While the fake document attempts to mimic the NPP letterhead, subtle differences in font alignment and the “Reference Number” format often give away these fabrications.
The logical red flag: Kevin Taylor
The inclusion of Kevin Taylor in a “sacking” notice is perhaps the biggest indicator of the post’s absurdity. Kevin Taylor is a well-known, vocal critic of the NPP. Since he is not a member of the party, and in fact, positions himself as its primary media antagonist, the NPP has no jurisdictional power to “sack” him. You cannot be fired from a job you never had.
Major policy decisions, such as the dismissal of a high-ranking official like Owusu Bempah, are always released through the NPP’s verified press portals and mainstream media outlets.
Justin Kodua Frimpong, the General Secretary of the NPP, has explicitly addressed the viral image on his official social media channels. He has labelled the document as fake news.
Conclusion
The document is a digitally altered. It was created to stir political controversy and capitalise on the names of polarising figures.
