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Claim: A viral fact card attributes a statement to North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, claiming that traders could have deliberately burnt Kantamanto Market to avoid repaying their loans.
Verdict: False. There is no evidence that Okudzeto Ablakwa made such a statement.
Full Text
On Jan. 2, 2024, a fire outbreak devastated Ghana’s Kantamanto Market, one of Africa’s largest second-hand clothing hubs, destroying over 100 shops. A viral fact card surfaced on social media, attributing a statement to MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. The card suggested that Ablakwa had accused traders of deliberately setting the market on fire to evade loan repayments.
A screengrab of the fact card shows that Vincent Ekow Assafuah, MP for Old Tafo, reposted the claim with the caption, “I see. Never knew Kantamantonians could be this irresponsible according to the ORAL Chairman…”
However, the alleged comment and repost are no longer on Ekow Assafuah’s page.
DUBAWA decided to fact-check this claim its because of the potential to mislead and cause harm to the reputation of the government official.
Verification
A keyword search was conducted to check whether any credible media outlet had reported Ablakwa making such comments. Findings revealed no reports from major news platforms attributing this statement to the MP.
Reviewing his recent statements and social media posts yielded no evidence supporting the claim.
DUBAWA, however, cited a denial by the North Tongu MP.
“Ignore and treat with utter contempt the glaikit and criminal conduct of NPP fake-newspreneurs….”
“May I use this opportunity to disclose that I have instructed my lawyers to commence legal action against Vincent Ekow Assafuah, MP for Old Tafo, who dishonourably and recklessly published a similar fake news item via his Facebook page?”
The viral fact card’s source had the logos of Ultimate FM 106.9, Abusua FM 96.5, and other affiliate stations under the EIB Network. However, the researcher did not find this fact card on the EIB Network’s social media handles.
DUBAWA also contacted Kwadwo Owusu, an Ultimate and Abusua FM newsroom journalist, who confirmed that the fact card did not emanate from them.
“This is not from us; we have stopped producing such quote cards.”
Conclusion
The claim that Okudzeto Ablakwa blamed traders for the Kantamanto Market fire is false. No credible evidence supports this statement, and the MP has denied making such remarks. The viral fact card is a fabrication.
