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Claim: A Ghana Today news flier is reporting British High Commissioner to Ghana, Christian Rogg, as saying democracy in Ghana is under threat
Verdict: False. A transcript of Christian Rogg’s media interview, where he supposedly made the statement, shows that he did not make any specific references to Ghana or the case involving the removal of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo while discussing the decline in democratic rights around the world.
Full Text
A viral news flier on social media claims that the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Christian Rogg, has said Ghana’s democracy is under threat. The news flyer, which featured photos of Christian Rogg and Ghana’s embattled former Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, was produced by a Facebook page called Ghana Today. The inclusion of the image of the former chief justice attempts to draw a link between her ongoing legal challenge against the John Mahama government and the British High Commissioner’s purported comment.
Gertrude Torkornoo was dismissed on September 1, 2025, following allegations of misconduct. The accusations against her, her legal challenge to the removal process, and the media commentaries have highlighted the potential impact on Ghana’s democracy, with members of the opposition New Patriotic Party, in particular, suggesting that her removal threatens Ghana’s democracy.
Although the Ghana Today publication did not provide any further information about the flier, DUBAWA’s investigation reveals that it was created after Christian Rogg granted an exclusive interview to Joy News, marking his first significant media encounter since assuming the role earlier this year.
Public sentiments to Ghana Today’s post, which has garnered more than 200 reactions so far, have been mixed, with some commenters lashing out at the high commissioner with comments such as,
“Himmmm, the UK removed three prime ministers in less than a year…can we also say their democracy was under threat? Chop your house matter,” while others call out the post as “fake news.”
Besides Ghana Today, DUBAWA’s checks show that Adom FM, a sister media outlet of Joy News, also published a news article with the same claim as its headline.
With over 500 reactions to the post and given that some of Ghana Today’s posts have previously been flagged for misinformation, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim.
Verification
To verify this claim, DUBAWA first conducted multiple Google searches to identify all recent media interactions High Commissioner Christian Rogg has had, and to determine where he may have made the claim.
The search results were narrowed down to one—an exclusive interview granted by the high commissioner to Joy News and published on the media house’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
In the 46-minute video, Joy News host Blessed Sogah asked the high commissioner questions about geopolitical developments in Africa, the UK’s trade relations with Ghana, and security issues in the subregion.
On the subject of democracy, starting at the 3 minute 56 seconds mark, we transcribed High Commissioner Christian Rogg’s responses to host Blessed Sogah below:
Host: You’ve been up to a lot already. I see some articles online sharing your reflections and expectations for your tour of duty, and you were rightly pointing out what hasn’t changed much about the country. I was just quoting parts of what you posted. You said what’s not changed much is the ‘generosity, optimism and democratic spirit of the Ghanaian,’ but some say it’s the same now, is it?
Guest: So, on the issues around the warm welcome and the early engagements I’ve had, it does feel like Ghana is still a very welcoming country. Amazing hospitality and a real excitement about showing Ghanaian culture and making people connect with it. And likewise, I think the fact that when you look at other countries, when you look at the wider region, certain things that maybe people took for granted around security that have been questioned have been maintained in Ghana. And so to me, it feels like there’s progress, feels like some of the things that were maybe fragile have consolidated, including you mentioned the democratic spirit, and I mentioned being here for the 2008 election. There have been several elections since then, we’ve seen several times when power changed between the two parties, and we’ve seen people were nervous about whether the elections would be free and fair. Will there be violence? And there was always a spotlight, and sometimes things happened, but they were of a scale that didn’t raise questions over the whole election or the security of citizens, and so on. So I think I am optimistic, and I have seen many things that could have gone differently, being protected and maintained.
Host: Do you feel we should continue basking in the glory of being, you know, the beacon of democracy in the sub-region, and what do you think has kept us going on as a country in terms of our democratic principles?
Guest: Yeah. So that term I’ve heard a lot, beacon of democracy, and as I just mentioned, it’s a well-earned title, but when you look around the world, and it’s not just about the sub-region, democracy has been under threat all around the world in many different countries. We’re seeing that some countries that were democratic have now seen coups d’etas, have been in a position of authoritarianism, but also we’ve seen in countries that are still democratic, their rights have been eroded. So when you look at the figures, it’s actually quite striking the share of the global population that is reducing effectively in terms of enjoying democratic rights and values. So I don’t think it’s something that should be taken for granted. I think Ghana deserves huge credit for what has been achieved. But democracy is something that needs to be nurtured. It needs to modernise with the aspirations of the [people], so the constitutional review that’s underway, I don’t know where it’s going to go. It’s an uncharted territory to some extent, but that’s one of the ways to say, is democracy in Ghana still in line with the aspirations of the population today, or do there need to be changes? So yes, it’s impressive in terms of where Ghana is at and where it has been, but it’s also important not to rest on those laurels and to see what more can be done.
Host: Developments within the sub-region are giving us reason to reflect, and, more importantly, as you have alluded to, the issue of constitutional review is underway. Um some say it’s coming at a very opportune time when many have expressed their opinion on what democracy has been and its contributory you know success to to our development and you take a look at the Africa barometer report or the Afro Barometer report um which is now pointing out that there’s a 29 point decline yeah when it comes to trust and confidence and the belief in uh democratic principles. It’s never been the same since 2017 for a country like Ghana. Experts say that’s a threat, and we ought to watch that trajectory.
Guest: Yeah. And I agree. It’s something to watch very carefully. When I talk about democracy being under threat and authoritarianism rising around the world, the key question is why? That has a lot to do with the aspirations of citizens. Yes, they want to be able to express their views freely to decide who is in power and to enjoy the rights that come with freedom, whether it is to publish, to associate, or to express their religious beliefs. So that freedom is highly valued, but citizens also want security. They want to feel safe. Citizens also want to see their lives better and the opportunities for their children improving. So it’s about growth, it’s about jobs and the challenges for democracies have been that in many countries citizens have said the people who I voted for haven’t given me what my aspirations were and that is for an individual country but that’s a fundamental question for democracy in terms of is it working or not and I think that’s where when you look at the the situation of Ghana in particular yes it is about maintaining a focus on on democratic values, modernizing institutions, constitutions, laws so that democracy is functioning well. But first and foremost, in Ghana and other countries, it’s about the people who have been put into office delivering on the aspirations and what they said they would do. And so that’s actually where having just arrived in Ghana a few months after an election and a new government has come in, that’s where all the conversations have been in terms of where to go, what does that mean in practice, what have we said we will do, and how we’re going to go about it.
Host: I know you’re a diplomat, but I don’t know if you would dare to be blunt about this because you’re not new to the continent. You’ve been in Ghana, you’ve been to Ethiopia, I believe, which is part of your tour of duty as well. How do we safeguard our democracy now? Some argue that there’s a ripple effect from the constitutional changes in the sub-region, which is a reason for the current developments, and this could have a spillover effect on countries like Ghana. So, how do we safeguard our democracy?
Guest: I think one key element I’ve talked about, which is safeguarding democracy in terms of actually the institutions, the constitution, etc., being in line with people’s aspirations and being functioning well, and also what I said that it’s about citizens’ expectations being met. It’s about governments delivering what they said they would do, and also what people are hoping for or voting for. Additionally, this is also because you make the connection to and comparison with other countries in the region. It is about actively dealing with the threats. When you look at what has been happening in the sub-region, it is evident that Burkina Faso was a very peaceful country when I was here before. I remember people going on road trips through Burkina Faso, often to Mali. Now, when you look at the statistics, Burkina Faso is the country that had the most terrorist attacks in the world last year. So that is a fundamental change, and that’s just on Ghana’s northern border. It is about understanding those dynamics in neighbouring countries and working towards essentially preventing those dynamics from affecting Ghana, and also then being really clear on what it means to manage those threats. It’s about partnerships with key individuals who offer advice and expertise, but also a significant amount of it involves politics, particularly in working with neighbouring countries and institutions that can provide support in that area.
(Filler words removed from transcript for clarity.)
Through the 12-minute mark of the video, there is no specific mention or reference to threats to Ghana’s democracy by High Commissioner Christian Rogg or the host Blessed Sogah.
The closest discussions centred on Rogg’s concerns about the threat to democracy globally, the rise of authoritarianism in some countries, and the erosion of democratic rights worldwide.
DUBAWA did not find any reference to the former Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, in the transcript. Throughout the interview, neither the interviewer, Blessed Sogah, nor the interviewee, Christian Rogg, mentioned the embattled former chief justice or her ongoing legal battles.
Additionally, DUBAWA observed that Joy News’ sister network Adom FM has replaced the previous headline: “Ghana’s democracy under threat- British High Commissioner” with a new one that better reflects the High Commissioner’s remarks: “Democracy under threat; Ghana’s constitutional review key – British High Commissioner.”
Conclusion
After examining the transcript of High Commissioner Christian Rogg and journalist Blessed Sogah’s discussions on democracy in Ghana, and on account of Adom FM’s backtracking on its initial headline, DUBAWA deems the claim that the High Commissioner said Ghana’s democracy is under threat to be false.
