Sensationalism, Insensitivity, and Shock Value: Why Ghana’s Media Courts Cannot Replace Its Failing Justice System 

The Oyerepa Afutu show hosted by Auntie Naa in Ghana
A still from the Oyerepa Afutu show hosted by Auntie Naa.

On March 26, 2024, Georgina Oboako, a mother of two, shared her painful ordeal on live television and radio, as well as Facebook and YouTube via a live video stream. The pineapple hawker, who moved from her rural hometown of Otuam in Ghana’s Ekumfi district to the city of Kumasi, started her story by revealing her struggles with accommodation.  She recounted initially having to sleep at the Metro Mass Transit Limited bus terminal. After a few months, her two boys became acquainted with an elderly man, Agya Osei, who offered to house them in a small kitchen. The favor came along with a promise to enroll her sons in school.  Excited and relieved, Oboako and her children moved into this makeshift bedroom, which she likened to receiving a chance to be in heaven.  But one night, Osei paid Oboako an unexpected visit past 10 pm, under the pretext of buying…


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Menenaba is a culture writer, personal and spatial stylist, conceptual artist, and independent multidisciplinary curator based in Accra. Best known for "Serenity Now by Riverain," a visual community journal for artists, as well as a radio show of the same name. Menenaba’s writing and curatorial practice explore the intersections of culture, identity, and colonial memory, fostering conversations that highlight contemporary artistic expression.