“Selective Justice”: Kpebu Says Government Can’t Pursue Ghana Jollof While Kevin Taylor Walks Free

A growing political storm over online insults directed at Ghana’s First and former Second Ladies has put the Mahama government’s response to inflammatory social media content under sharp scrutiny — with private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu warning that pursuing one side of the fight while ignoring the other amounts to nothing less than selective justice.

How the Controversy Escalated

The saga centres on a public feud between two prominent social media figures: US-based Ghanaian media personality Kevin Taylor, and TikTok personality Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, popularly known as “Ghana Jollof.” Kodua released videos criticising President John Mahama, First Lady Lordina Mahama, and the judge who presided over the Adenta Court case — content that has since drawn the attention of the Ghana Police Service. Police have since declared Kodua wanted over alleged incitement to violence and related online activities.

The investigation has already produced an arrest: Techiman-based senior nursing officer Salomey Awiti Bafoh was taken into custody and remanded for two weeks, accused of helping distribute Kodua’s videos and facilitate their circulation online. She has since pleaded not guilty.

Kpebu’s Central Argument

Speaking on TV3’s The KeyPoints on Saturday, September 19, Kpebu argued that arresting Bafoh alone does nothing to address the underlying problem. He described Kevin Taylor as the real “protagonist” in the saga — someone he says has been left untouched by government even as he continues insulting prominent public figures, including Otumfuo, the Okyehene, a sitting judge, and Kyei Baffour.

“As long as the protagonist is not reined in, you have not done anything at all,” Kpebu said, adding that public sentiment on social media reflects a broader frustration: that numerous political and national figures have contributed to Ghana’s culture of online insult politics, and that singling out Ghana Jollof does nothing to solve that wider problem.

Kpebu went further in a later interview on Wednesday, September 24, calling the case against Ghana Jollof “foolish” and arguing that Kodua herself has framed her actions as retaliatory — insisting she is responding to what Kevin Taylor has done, and that she would stop if he did. His view: government’s approach should focus on dialogue and even-handed accountability rather than one-sided arrests and prosecutions. He has also separately alleged that Kevin Taylor receives protection from President Mahama’s National Security apparatus whenever he visits Ghana — a claim that has added further fuel to accusations of favouritism.

The Wider Political Reaction

The controversy has taken on a distinctly partisan edge. Kevin Taylor has a well-documented history of directing insults at prominent NPP figures, including former Second Lady Samira Bawumia, whom he has targeted repeatedly over the years without facing any police action or public “wanted” notice. That contrast has not gone unnoticed: former NPP parliamentary candidate for Dome-Kwabenya, Michael Oquaye Jnr, publicly pointed out that Taylor’s insults against Samira Bawumia drew no consequences, while the pursuit of those linked to Ghana Jollof’s insults against Lordina Mahama has moved swiftly through arrests and a formal wanted declaration.

Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia himself weighed in, calling for Bafoh’s release — prompting Kevin Taylor to publicly challenge Bawumia’s own consistency, pointing to past incidents where Taylor claims the former Vice President stayed silent on comparable matters.

Why It Matters

At the heart of the dispute is a question that goes beyond any single insult or arrest: whether Ghana’s law enforcement is applying its standards evenly, regardless of who is doing the insulting or who is being insulted. Kpebu’s position is straightforward — if government is serious about curbing incendiary political discourse, the standard has to apply to everyone crossing that line, not just those criticising the sitting administration. Leaving Kevin Taylor’s conduct unaddressed while pursuing Ghana Jollof and her associates, in his view, undermines the credibility of any enforcement action, however legally justified it might be on its own narrow terms.

The Bottom Line

Kpebu’s message to government has been consistent across his recent interviews: if fairness is the goal, either act against both sides of this insult war, or press both to stand down — but treating one side as untouchable while prosecuting the other risks looking like exactly what critics are calling it: hypocrisy dressed up as law enforcement. With Bafoh still in custody, Ghana Jollof still wanted, and Kevin Taylor still openly sparring with politicians on social media, the question of whether government will apply its standards evenly remains very much unresolved.