Veteran broadcaster and ‘Good Evening Ghana’ host Paul Adom-Otchere has delivered a sharp rebuke of Ashanti Regional Minister Dr. Frank Amoakohene, accusing him of conduct unworthy of a public office holder and calling out what he described as a troubling pattern of politically motivated attacks on an opposition figure.
Speaking with evident passion on the Thursday, June 4 edition of his current affairs programme, Adom-Otchere directed his fire at the minister’s persistent targeting of NPP communicator and former parliamentary candidate Akosua Manu — widely known as Kozie — arguing that the exchanges between the two had crossed a line that no person in a position of public trust should cross.
At the heart of Adom-Otchere’s critique was a fundamental question of priorities. The Ashanti Region, he noted, faces real and pressing developmental challenges — and yet its regional minister appeared more preoccupied with ridiculing a political opponent than with the business of governance.
For the veteran journalist, that disconnect is not merely a matter of poor judgment. It reflects a broader failure of leadership character. Public officials, he argued, are entrusted with authority precisely because they are expected to rise above the pettiness that ordinary political rivalry can produce — to demonstrate restraint, maturity, and the kind of respect that holds democratic institutions together.
When that expectation is consistently violated, he warned, it erodes public confidence not just in individual officeholders, but in the very idea of accountable leadership.
Defending Kozie — and a Principle
Adom-Otchere’s defence of Akosua Manu was rooted in something larger than factional loyalty. Every Ghanaian citizen, he insisted, regardless of their political affiliation, is entitled to be treated with basic dignity — and that entitlement does not disappear simply because someone sits on the opposite side of the political divide.
Criticism, he maintained, must remain issue-based. The moment it descends into personal confrontation, it stops being a contribution to democratic discourse and becomes a distraction from the genuine work of governance.
He also raised a more pointed concern: that the minister’s conduct risked establishing a precedent where political affiliation determines how individuals are treated by those in authority — a dynamic that, left unchecked, deepens polarisation and chips away at the conditions necessary for healthy democratic participation.
Adom-Otchere’s remarks extended beyond this specific episode into a broader lament about the declining quality of political civility in Ghana. He called on figures from both the governing NDC and the opposition NPP to take seriously their responsibility to elevate public discourse — arguing that genuine leadership is exercised through humility and a commitment to the national interest, not through public feuds that generate heat but no light.
The exchange has generated this level of discussion, many observers note, is itself a reflection of the deeper tensions Adom-Otchere was attempting to address.
No Such Thing As A Neutral Journalist—Paul Adom-Otchere
While Adom-Otchere’s intervention has drawn support from commentators concerned about political intolerance, others have pushed back, arguing that robust exchanges are an inherent feature of democratic engagement. What is harder to dispute, however, is that the controversy has reignited a serious national conversation about the conduct expected of public officials — and whether Ghana’s political culture is drifting further from the decorum that office demands.
How It All Started
The feud traces back to a social media post by Dr. Amoakohene depicting former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia in diapers. The image drew an immediate and public rebuke from Akosua Manu — a former special aide to Bawumia — who called on the minister to show respect to the former Vice President and the office he had held.
The tensions appeared to subside, but resurfaced days later when Manu made a Facebook post that was reportedly unrelated to the minister. Dr. Amoakohene inserted himself into the discussion and used the opportunity to mock her. Manu responded sharply, criticising his appearance and questioning why he was spending time on social media rather than addressing the very real problems facing the Ashanti Region.
What followed took the confrontation to a different level entirely. The minister’s response to her comments was widely characterised by critics as sexually suggestive and misogynistic — language that crossed well beyond the boundaries of political banter and triggered a wave of backlash from commentators, women’s advocacy groups, and media personalities.
The Gender Centre for Empowering Development subsequently issued a formal condemnation, arguing that political disagreements must remain grounded in ideas and policy, and that gender-based or sexualised attacks have no place in public discourse.
It was this sequence of events — and specifically the nature of the minister’s remarks — that prompted Paul Adom-Otchere to take aim at Dr. Amoakohene on Good Evening Ghana, describing the minister’s online conduct as inappropriate and beneath the standard expected of someone entrusted with public office.