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Claim: A Facebook user shared a video, claiming Bobie Ansah recently criticised the presidency for the persistence of illegal mining (galamsey) in Ghana.
Verdict: Misleading. DUBAWA’s checks reveal that the video is old. It first appeared online in July 2024, during the previous administration under President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Full Text
Illegal mining (galamsey) activities have persisted in Ghana for years. Various individuals and groups have advocated for measures to curb galamsey. Different government administrations have also proposed and promised to implement measures to ensure safe extraction of natural resources and protect the environment from destruction.
The media, as the fourth estate, has upheld its accountability mandate to help curb illegal mining. The galamsey menace was a key issue in the 2024 elections, with various interest groups, including the then opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing the ruling New Patriotic Party government of doing little to curb it.
During the campaign, key NDC members made promises and vowed to end the menace if they were elected.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost the ensuing election with Ghanaians voting overwhelmingly for the NDC.
Almost two years into the NDC administration, the galamsey menace shows no sign of ending.
The criticism has now shifted to the governing party from all quarters, demanding an end to galamsey in Ghana.
In one such instance, a trending video claims media personality Kwabena Bobie Ansah has criticised the ruling party (government), saying galamsey still exists because the presidency and political appointees are involved.
A Facebook user, Bro George Boakye, claims in a post that Bobie Ansah, allegedly an NDC sympathiser, has attributed the struggle with galamsey to the involvement of “the president and his people.”
“NDC exposing NDC. Agye ta!” he captioned his post, suggesting that the ruling government is exposing its own rot.
As of Sept. 28, 2026, the post had garnered over 26,000 views, 985 likes, and 324 shares. See similar versions of the post here, here and here.
However, is this a ruling party member or a fanatic exposing the government’s rot? DUBAWA decided to verify.
Verification
Using InVID WeVerify, DUBAWA obtained keyframes from the trending video. A Google Image Search of the keyframes revealed the video is a clip from the 10th Edition of the NDC 360 with Sammy Gyamfi. The NDC 360 Facebook page streamed that edition, and it was uploaded to the ERNS YouTube page on July 10, 2024.
The edition featured media personalities Kwabena Bobie Ansah and Captain Smart. They discussed several key issues, including the then-flagbearer and now-president John Mahama’s appearance before the press and illegal mining.
In response to Sammy Gyamfi’s question about his thoughts on Mahama’s idea of preventing cabinet ministers and political appointees from engaging in illegal mining (galamsey), Bobie Ansah made the statements in the widely circulated video.
Find the exact moment when he reiterated that it will be difficult to stop illegal mining because it is politically motivated and backed, from 49:30 to 50:14 in a livestream video uploaded on the ERNS Media YouTube page.
The same video of Bobie Ansah making the statements was uploaded to the NDC 360 Facebook reel on July 14, 2024.
Conclusion
The viral video of Bobie Ansah attributing difficulties in curbing illegal mining to the involvement of the presidency and political appointees is old. Although he made these statements, DUBAWA’s checks reveal it first appeared online in July, 2024.
