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Claim: Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, the CEO of Ghana’s National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, alleges that the driver who drove Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in an electric bus, was a trained head porter, locally called “Kayayoo.”
Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s probe revealed that the driver, identified as Mary Lalako Agboli, was not a head porter or a “Kayayoo,” as Mr Nkansah alleged. In a video interview with Accra-based Citi FM posted on Feb 23, 2020, Mary told the media outlet that she had been driving for “four months.” Reacting to the claim, Mary said she had not been a head porter. Also, the claimant, Mr Nkansah, had modified his Facebook post and said the description of Mary as a trained Kayayoo was a “communication error.”
Full Text
Ghana has commissioned the first batch of 100 electric buses on its roads, easing the burden on passengers. The country’s vice president, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, commissioned the Accra buses on November 27, 2024.
The economist said the buses marked a “new era of innovation in public transport services” in the West African country.
“For those of you who will be using these buses, you might be wondering how much it will cost. Based on our estimates, we expect a 40 to 50 per cent reduction in fares for these electric vehicles,” he said.
See news reports about the commissioning of the electric buses here and here.
During the ceremony, a trained driver drove the Vice President and the 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential candidate in an electric bus.
Minutes after the ceremony, Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), alleged that the driver was a “trained Kayayoo” who had participated in the Kayayei Empowerment Programme (KEP).
“Trained Kayayei bus driver drives Dr Bawumia through town in one of the Electric Buses on their graduation day,” he posted on Facebook.
The claim was widely reported in the media. See news reports here, here, here, and here.
Also, the claim went viral on social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter) see here, here, here, here, and here.
The term “kaya yei” is a Ghanaian term for a female head porter or a woman or a girl who carries customers’ goods in the market in exchange for money.
President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government designed the Kayayei Empowerment Programme to provide these girls or women with life-long vocational and educational skills.
Reacting to the claim on social media, an X user, Kwesi Nyarko, wrote on Nov. 27, 2024,
“A trained “kayayei” bus driver drives Dr Bawumia and his team around town on her graduation day. Dr. Bawumia really meant the all-inclusive governance.”
Another X user, Abdul Hameed, quizzed, “When did this girl become kayaye?”
DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim because of its virality on social media in the country.
Verification
DUBAWA’s research revealed that the bus driver, identified as Mary Lalako Agboli, was not a head porter or a “Kayayoo,” as Mr Nkansah alleged.
DUBAWA checked the claimant’s Facebook page and noticed the NEIP boss had modified his earlier post.
Mr Nkansah said his earlier communication resulted from a “communication error and wasn’t meant to mislead people.”
He wrote: “The lady [Mary] driving is rather part of the first batch of female drivers GAPTE [Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive] trained in 2017.”
The findings of DUBAWA’s Google Reverse Image Search showed a video interview of Mary with the Accra-based Citi FM on Feb 23, 2020, where she told the media outlet that she had been driving for “four months.”
See the video posted on YouTube by the media outlet from minutes 2:34 to 3:25, where Mary disclosed that she had been driving for some months.
The social media data showed that the video had been viewed 1,725 times as of Dec. 2, 2024.
An interview analysis revealed that Mary started driving one of the buses operated by the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), known as “Aayalolo,” in October 2019, not 2024, as alleged.
Also, reacting to the claim in an interview with Accra-based Metro TV, Mary said she had not been a head porter.
“So, you are not a kayayei-trained driver?” the journalist asked, and Mary responded, “No, please. I am not.”
See minutes 1:06 to 1:10 of Mary’s interview posted on her YouTube channel here.
Constance Kwami Adusu, a bus driving instructor with the GAPTE, confirmed she trained “about 70 women in 2017,” including Mary, who were not head porters or Kayayei.
Mr Adusu explained that the drivers responded to an advert the GAPTE placed in the dailies to recruit female drivers.
Similarly, a visit to the websites of two media outlets that reported the claim, Myjoyonline and Adomonline, showed they had deleted their stories.
Conclusion
Mary Lalako Agboli, the driver who drove Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in an electric bus in Accra, was not a trained head porter or Kayayoo, as Mr Nkansah alleged.
