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Claim: Multiple sources say Ghana’s police had launched a manhunt for Maleek Basintale, a Deputy Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), for describing Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, a known Muslim, as a pork eater.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s research showed the police in Ghana are not trailing the former Savannah Regional NDC Communications Officer, Maleek Basintale, over his comment, as alleged. Reacting to the claim on X (formerly Twitter), the Ghana Police Service has denied declaring Mr Basintale as a “wanted man” in the country.
Full Text
Multiple sources have alleged the Ghana Police Service had launched a manhunt for Maleek Basintale, a Deputy Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), for describing the country’s Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, a known Muslim, as a pork eater.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South Constituency, Samuel Atta Akyea, encouraged supporters of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to vote for the party’s 2024 Presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia because of his background as an economist.
“Ghanaians should be lucky to have an economist (Dr. Bawumia) to vote for, to transform Ghana, rather than voting for a drunkard,” he said in the Twi dialect on Aug. 29, 2024.
Hours later, the opposition NDC said Mr Atta Akyea’s use of the word “drunkard” in his comment directly referred to ex-Ghanaian President and the party’s 2024 Presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama.
In a press statement, the NDC General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey said, “John Dramani Mahama is not a drunkard [but rather a] distinguished statesman whose commitment to the well-being and progress of Ghana is unquestionable.”
Also, responding to Mr Atta Akyea’s comment, the Deputy NDC Communications Officer, Maleek Basintale, said the lawmaker had demonstrated a “desperate” attempt to go after Mr Mahama.
“If you want us to go after the man, then Alhaji Bawumia, a Muslim, his favourite meat is pig meat,” Mr Basintale said during a campaign tour.
See Mr Basintale’s comments from minutes 1:21 to 1:36 of the campaign video posted on YouTube here.
However, multiple sources claimed the police in Ghana have launched a manhunt for Mr Basintale based on his description of the country’s Vice President, Dr Bawumia, as a “pork eater.”
An X user, Millicent Apeku, wrote on Sept. 5, 2024, that:
“The Inspector General of Police acting Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department has instructed one senior Police officer, Nketiah of the Special Investigation Unit, to arrest the deputy National Communications Officer of the NDC, Malik Basintale.”
Another X user, Ghana Chronicles, posted on the same day that:
“BREAKING: NDC Malik Basintale is wanted by Ghana Police for calling the Vice President, Bawumia “Pork Eater.”
Also joining the claimants, the NDC Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, wrote that:
“Someone also decides to call you a “Pork Eater”. They know you run to your political appendages in the Police Service like a crybaby for them to arrest your accuser.”
See other posts here, here, and here.
DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim because of its virality on social media in West Africa.
Verification
DUBAWA’s investigations showed the police in Ghana are not trailing the former Savannah Regional NDC Communications Officer, Maleek Basintale, over his comment, as alleged.
Reacting to the claim on X (formerly Twitter), the Ghana Police Service has denied declaring Mr Basintale as a “wanted man” in the country.
“The attention of the Ghana Police Service has been drawn to a claim circulating on some social media platforms to the effect that Malik Basintale has been declared wanted by the Police,” Ghana’s police said in an X post on Sept. 5, 2024.
The Ghana Police Service has described the allegation as “categorically” false and encouraged the public to disregard the social media claim and “treat it with the contempt it deserves.”
The results of DUBAWA’s Google keyword search on the subject matter showed no reputable media organisation in the West African country published a news report on the alleged police manhunt for Mr Basintale.
Considering the political climate in the country as Ghanaians head to the crucial polls in Dec. 2024, a purported police manhunt for an activist of the opposition NDC over a comment made against Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia would have dominated headlines and political discussions.
However, DUBAWA found no evidence online to support the claim that the police in Ghana are trailing the Deputy NDC Communications Officer, Maleek Basintale.
Reacting to the police statement, Mr Basintale took to X to thank the youth of Ghana for standing with him.
“Thank you, Ghanaian Youth. Together, we stand strong. Aluta continua – Change is a must,” he wrote on Sept. 5, 2024.
Conclusion
The police in Ghana are not trailing the Deputy NDC Communications Officer, Maleek Basintale, for describing the country’s Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, a known Muslim, as a “pork eater.”
