Franklin Cudjoe, Founding President of IMANI Africa, has called on President John Dramani Mahama to grant a presidential pardon to TikToker Camilla Alhassan, who was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to offensive conduct and the publication of false news. Cudjoe argued that the prosecution was unnecessary, describing the case as a misuse of the criminal justice system.
In a series of Facebook posts, Cudjoe questioned the decision to prosecute and jail the TikToker over false claims that President Mahama buried 32 cows as part of rituals to secure victory in the 2024 general election. He maintained that while the statements were defamatory, the appropriate legal remedy should have been a civil defamation suit rather than imprisonment, and appealed directly to the President to pardon her.
Camilla Alhassan was arrested after videos containing the allegations circulated widely on social media. Although the court dismissed the charge of electronic abuse, it convicted her of offensive conduct and sentenced her to one year in prison. According to her lawyer, Kwadwo Gyamfi Bonsu, the court imposed the custodial sentence despite a plea for leniency, stating that the increasing prevalence of such offences required a deterrent punishment.