A Circuit Court in Accra has sentenced a Ghanaian blogger to 30 days in prison over the publication of false news that caused panic and bank withdrawals in 2022.
The false news, captioned “Dollar account holders to get cedi at BoG rate for bank withdrawal effective 31st Oct?” was published on reportghana.net and shared on various WhatsApp platforms, creating fear and panic among the public and leading to panic withdrawals at various banks.
The prosecution informed the court that the false news item was posted on the news portal, www.reportghana.net, on October 27, 2022.
The blogger, identified as Jeffrey Epprim Nyame, was found guilty and sentenced for the offence during a proceeding presided over by Judge Isaac Addo.
The court, however, acquitted and discharged one Jeremiah Kobina Egyabeng, an IT professional, who was also facing charges of abetment in the matter.
John Baptist Ayitse, a lawyer acting as a friend of the court, pleaded for clemency for the blogger. He argued that Jeffery Nyame had learned vital lessons from his conduct and pledged not to repeat the offence if acquitted.
But the pleas for mercy did not change the mind of the court, as Judge Addo insisted on handing down a custodial sentence to Jeffery Nyame for his conduct.
Judge Addo expressed concern about the unrestricted publication of false news on social media platforms without adhering to the necessary ethics of verification.
The judge emphasized that a custodial sentence was necessary to serve as a deterrent to individuals who spread misinformation on social media, leading to fear and panic.
During the proceedings, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Seth Frimpong, who led the prosecution team, informed the court that Jeffery Nyame admitted to publishing the false news but claimed to have obtained it from mynewsgh.com.
However, investigations conducted by authorities confirmed him as the author and publisher of the false news.
The prosecution argued that the false news item published in 2022 caused bank customers to resort to panic withdrawals, creating a challenging situation for financial institutions.
Source: Ghanaweb