Claim: An online news portal is alleging that the Ghanaian Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, has apologised to Ex-President John Mahama for “insulting” him in the heat of the 2016 General Elections.
Verdict: False! Aides at the Office of both the Second Lady and the Vice President of Ghana have told DUBAWA the report is false. “It’s a BIG lie,” Baako Abdul Wakeel, an aide at the Office of the Vice President said. Also, a search by DUBAWA showed none of the reputable media organisations in Ghana has published the report despite its potential impact on the campaign of the governing NPP.
Full Text
An online news portal claims the Second Lady of Ghana, Samira Bawumia has apologised to former President John Dramani Mahama over some comments she made in the heat of the 2016 General Elections.
Ms Bawumia was one of the strong opposition voices critical of the regime of the Ex-Ghanaian leader in 2016.
Her comments here, and here on campaign platforms did not spare Mr Mahama and his appointees over some policy decisions of the government.
“I just returned from the North and people in President Mahama’s hometown (Gonja) cannot get water to drink, yet he has erected billboards all over the country,” Accra-based Peace FM reported Ms Bawumia as saying on Oct. 11, 2016.
The Ex-Ghanaian leader reportedly hit back days later in a report filed by Accra-based Daily Guide newspaper saying:
“You [Samira] don’t understand the technical reasons why the people are still without pipe-borne water; you can’t think far.”
However, nearly six years after the exchanges, an online news portal claims the Second Lady has apologised for her comments in 2016.
“I apologise for insulting President Mahama before the 2016 election; he is a respected leader, and I ask him to forgive me, it won’t happen again,” the online news portal’s account on X (formerly Twitter) attributed the message to the Second Lady.
Data available on X showed the post made on Oct. 12, 2023, has been viewed 36,456 times, shared 84 times, liked 275 times, and received 121 comments.
DUBAWA decided to verify the claim due to its virality and the controversy it has generated so far.
Verification
DUBAWA first decided to contact the online platform by asking them to provide evidence and the source of their report. However, it has since not responded to messages sent.
Subsequently, aides to both the Second Lady and Vice President of Ghana have told DUBAWA that the report making the rounds on X (formerly Twitter) is false.
Baako Abdul Wakeel, an aide at the Office of the Vice President, described the claim as a “BIG lie.”
He said Ms Bawumia would not make such a statement because her comments in 2016 reflected the situation on the ground.
The Second Lady had told Accra-based Asaase Radio in 2020 that she did not insult the ex-Ghanaian leader.
“All we were saying is that he didn’t do his job as was expected. Politics is not about insults and that is why I say we take what we are doing seriously. I’m proud of what my government has done in the last three and a half years.”
Also, a special aide to the Ghanaian Second Lady, Kwame Twum, told DUBAWA the report is fake.
Further, a Google keyword search conducted by DUBAWA showed none of the reputable media organisations in Ghana has published the report, considering its potential impact on the campaign of the governing New Patriotic Party.
It can, therefore, not be proven that the Ghanaian Second Lady has apologised to Mr Mahama over her comments in 2016.
Conclusion
Ms Bawumia has maintained in 2020 that she did not insult ex-President John Mahama in 2016. Therefore, reports that she has apologised to the ex-Ghanaian leader for her “insults” are false.
