TikToker Camilla Alhassan Jailed One Year for Spreading False Claims About President Mahama

TikToker Camilla Alhassan has been sentenced to one year in prison by the Accra Circuit Court after pleading guilty to charges of offensive conduct and publishing false news.

The sentence was handed down on Thursday, July 16, after Alhassan admitted to sharing videos on social media in which she falsely claimed, without any evidence, that President John Dramani Mahama buried 32 cows as part of rituals to secure victory in the 2024 general election.

Speaking after the ruling, her lawyer, Kwadwo Gyamfi Bonsu, disclosed that the court dismissed the charge of electronic abuse, explaining that it lacked the legal jurisdiction to determine that particular offence.

Despite dropping the electronic abuse charge, the court convicted Alhassan on the count of offensive conduct and imposed a one-year custodial sentence.

According to her lawyer, the defence pleaded for a more lenient sentence, but the judge maintained that the increasing spread of false information and similar offences required a punishment that would serve as a deterrent.

Camilla Alhassan was arrested and prosecuted by the Ghana Police Service after the videos gained widespread attention on social media. Prior to sentencing, the court had also ordered a pregnancy test during an earlier hearing as part of the proceedings.