Who said catfishing was just for Tinder?

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Today in Ghana:

• National: Can you imagine getting your school lunch from a bag of rice that's lowkey ancient? Well, Ghanaian high schools just might have been served a lesson in “expiration dates don’t matter.

• National: Supreme Court’s decision leaves Speaker Bagbin firmly in his seat, no eviction order necessary

• Crime: They say lightning doesn’t strike twice—unless you’re Samuel “Corn Dealer” Ledi, who just got a second sentence for a bag heist.

• Politics: Teachers tell Bawumia to ‘Make it make sense’ or risk losing their votes.

• Fact of the Day: Clouds are heavy!

• Politics: EC says trust us—we’ve got this election thing down, and we’re about to serve transparency goals this December.

• Education: GNAPS is saying private school students are getting screwed with the current 30% priority policy.

• Politics: Ayariga plans to sleep in a police cell as his first act as president.

• National: Kotoka International Airport takes a break from night flights.

QUICK BYTE

• So, rumor has it that 22,000 bags of rice that expired way back in 2023 somehow found their way onto the menu in high schools across Ghana. MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is calling foul, claiming that this wasn’t some harmless mix-up. Nope, he’s saying a whole conspiracy went down, with officials allegedly repackaging the stale grains in brand-new bags labeled “Made in Ghana.” Kind of like putting a filter on a selfie, but, uh, way worse for digestion. Want the deets in full? Check out the Deep Dive section.

• Electrician Samuel Ledi, also known as “Corn Dealer,” is back in the spotlight, but not for his wiring skills. Sentenced to three years by the Hohoe Circuit Court, Ledi was convicted for stealing a fish trader’s bag containing GH₵40,000 in cash. His accomplice, identified as Tsikata, remains on the run. Despite pleading not guilty, Ledi’s prior run-in with the law—when he served two years for a similar offense in 2021—didn’t help his case. Get the 411 in the Deep Dive section below

• The Ghana National Association of Private Schools is bringing the heat, petitioning the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to settle the discrimination they say is built into the government’s 30% priority placement system for Senior High Schools. The policy reserves spots in top-tier Category “A” schools for public school students, and GNAPS is like, “Hold up, this isn’t fair.” According to GNAPS, private school students are getting the short end of the stick, even though they perform just as well (if not better) than their public school peers. Read more

• Ghana’s Supreme Court dropped a verdict in the “Vacant Seats” saga, and let’s just say, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin can chill because there’s no eviction notice for him. Lawyer Thaddeus Sory, repping Bagbin, practically said, “Sorry, no ruling here telling Parliament to kick anyone out. The Speaker’s seat is far from “vacant.” Basically, the court didn’t put in any official orders forcing Parliament to acknowledge the MPs who switched teams. So yeah, while we’ve got spicy legal opinions flying around, Bagbin’s got no “Bye Felicia” moment coming his way. At least, not today. Read more

• So, some Ghanaian teachers have officially snapped, and they’re not just typing “this is unfair” on their WhatsApp groups anymore—they’ve taken it to the press. Led by Mr. Newell Anokye Abrefa, a group of teachers is calling out the Ghana Education Service (GES) for making promotions a political popularity contest rather than based on merit. The bitter truth? If you’re not close to the political “it crowd,” your career might just plateau at “Deputy Director” forever. And when you finally retire, you’re left with a pension that feels more like pocket change. So, they’re telling Dr. Bawumia—“Fix this or we’ll show you where power lies in the coming election. .” Read more

• So, the Electoral Commission (EC) is out here fighting back against the haters, saying there’s no way trust in their operations is slipping. A recent report from CDD-Ghana claimed that Ghanaians are side-eyeing the EC’s impartiality ahead of the December elections. But Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, the EC's Deputy Chair, was like, “Hold up—don’t come for us!” He reassured the public that the Commission’s all about keeping elections transparent and credible, with fancy tech (like biometric systems) and serious training for staff. In fact, the EC is standing tall and proud, claiming that Ghana is one of the top contenders when it comes to conducting elections in Africa. No cap. Read more

• Accra’s Kotoka International Airport is hitting pause on its runway every night for two years, starting from March 2025. The maintenance, expected to run until March 2027, will close the runway from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM, which will throw a wrench into those late-night flights. Airlines like Royal Air Maroc, Turkish Airlines, and Ethiopian Airlines are already tweaking their schedules to dodge any delays. Read more

DEEP DIVE

Rotten Rice Report Card

Ablakwa claims he uncovered a full-blown rice-gate after hearing whispers about rice that was “expired, buggy, and repackaged.” Yep, these bags of Moshosho rice, reportedly shipped in from India, were expired as of December 2023. When that expiration date came knocking, they allegedly slapped on new bags, pretended the rice was fresh, and sent it out like it was nothing.

Ablakwa is pointing fingers at the National Food Buffer Stock Company and a business called Lamens Investments Africa Limited, saying they repackaged the expired rice in Kumasi and stamped it with “ECOWAS” and “Made in Ghana”—minus any expiry date.

And here’s the wild part: when the FDA flagged the rice as a health hazard, the Ashanti Regional Police apparently confiscated it. But before any tests could even clear, an “order from above” allegedly set it free, and off it went to be dished up at schools. This isn’t just about stale rice—doctors who reviewed the FDA’s report said the acidity levels were dangerously high, and the rice was crawling with insects. Yeah, it's not just spoiled, it’s practically a biohazard.

Now Ablakwa’s calling for heads to roll (figuratively, of course). He’s demanding legal action against the culprits, who, after admitting guilt, agreed to pay a GH₵100,000 fine but apparently ghosted halfway through the payment. You can’t even find them now. Ablakwa isn’t letting this slide, and with his call for justice, let’s just say the rice won’t be the only thing under fire.🥱🥱 Read more

“Corn Dealer” Sentenced

They say old habits die hard, and Samuel Ledi, better known as “Corn Dealer,” might be a case in point. The 29-year-old electrician has landed himself a fresh three-year prison sentence after a Hohoe court found him guilty of masterminding a market heist involving GH₵40,000 in cash. This isn’t Ledi’s first brush with the law—back in 2021, he did a two-year stretch for another bag theft, and it seems he couldn’t resist a repeat performance. The court, presided over by Mr. Michael Johnson Abbey, didn’t buy his plea of innocence this time around.

It all went down on May 22, 2023, when a fish seller discovered her red bag missing from beneath her table at Hohoe Market. She reported the theft, leading to a police investigation and, eventually, Ledi’s arrest. But the story took a twist when Ledi offered to help locate his accomplice, Tsikata, only to send police on a fruitless search in Ashaiman. It turns out, according to a fellow inmate, that Ledi had set up the whole Ashaiman trip to throw authorities off his trail.

The plot thickened further when a 13-year-old came forward, claiming that Ledi had enlisted him to swipe the complainant’s bag. During an identification parade, the young witness pointed out Ledi as the person behind the theft, sealing his fate. In the end, with advice from the Attorney General’s Office, the court formally charged Ledi with theft and locked in his three-year sentence.

While Ledi is set to serve his time, the police are still on the lookout for Tsikata. With “Corn Dealer” behind bars again, Hohoe’s market might be a bit quieter—at least for now. Read more

CHECK OUT WHAT’S TRENDING

• Ayariga plans to sleep in a police cell on his first night as president.

• The president’s the boss, everyone else is just the hype crew.

• Voting for a gov that buys past questions? Nah fam.

NEWS SOURCES

Today’s stories are curated from:

1. www.myjoyonline.com

2. www.ghanaweb.com

3. www.citinewsroom.com

4. www.norvanreports.com

5. www.channel1new.com