Claim: An X user, Gen Buhari, claims Prof. Frimpong Boateng, a former Environment, Science and Technology Minister, accused ex-Ghanaian President John Mahama of owning an illegal mining site.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s investigation showed Prof. Frimpong Boateng, the former head of Ghana’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), did not make the alleged claim. In his 37-page report on illegal mining in the West African country, Prof. Boateng noted the Committee’s probe revealed two miners, Donald Entsuah and Simon Ayman, were “close allies of the Mahamas.”
Full-Text:
An X user, Gen Buhari, claimed Prof. Frimpong Boateng, a former Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister, accused ex-Ghanaian President John Mahama of owning an illegal mining site in the country.
The social media user who described himself as a fact-checker and researcher wrote on Sept. 18, 2024:
“Sadly, it is alleged that Adam Mahama, the young military man was lynched as a result of his protection for John Mahama’s Galamsey site.”
The X user was referencing an ex-military officer, Major Maxwell Adam Mahama, who was lynched after he was mistaken for an armed robber by residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central region on May 29, 2017.
The X post was accompanied by a flyer featuring the logo of Kapital Radio 97.1, a Kumasi-based media outlet.
A screenshot of the flyer making the rounds on socials in Ghana
“During our usual runs across galamsey communities, we found out that our former President, John Mahama, has a galamsey site at Wassa Dadieso,” Prof. Boateng reportedly said.
The social media platform showed that as of Sept. 22, 2024, the post had received over 38,443 views, 474 likes, 89 reposts, 173 comments, and 11 bookmarks.
Reacting to the post, an X user, George Kwarteng, replied on Sept. 19, 2024:
“Very shameful, former President.”
Another X user, Dom, wrote:
“Mahama has a galamsey site and you have not apprehended him?? Why? 8yrs in government the NPP has engaged and supervised total destruction of our natural water bodies, and you here going to the past. How about he also saying galamsey was occurring behind Addo D’s backyard.”
DUBAWA decided to probe the claim as part of its campaign against misinformation and disinformation in Ghana.
Verification
DUBAWA’s investigation showed Prof. Frimpong Boateng, the former head of Ghana’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), did not make the alleged claim.
The findings of DUBAWA’s content analysis of Prof. Boateng’s 37-page report on illegal mining in the West African country revealed that the ex-Ghanaian minister did not say anywhere that Mr Mahama has a “galamsey site.”
On page 32 of his report released in 2023, Prof. Boateng said:
“It was this same Donald Entsuah and his friend Simon Ayman, a Canadian national, whose company C&J Aleska caused havoc in the Diaso forest. These two gentlemen were close allies of the Mahamas and soldiers from the Ghana Army gave them protection. Captain Mahama died during his duty protecting Donald Entsuah’s interests.”
Also, Kapital Radio, the Kumasi-based media outlet and the alleged originator of the flyer has asked the public to disregard it.
Kapital Radio Managing Director, Korsi Asiseh, told Ghanaians to “Beware of fake flyers circulating about our website putting up political stories.
DUBAWA later conducted a Google keyword search to determine if any credible media outlet in Ghana had published stories on the claim but found no data online to support the X user’s claim about Mr Mahama’s involvement in illegal mining.
Conclusion
Prof. Frimpong Boateng, the former head of Ghana’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), did not say that ex-Ghanaian President John Mahama has an illegal mining site in the country.
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