Politics of Insults and Culture of insults: Mr Kevin Taylor and Ghana Jollof in Actions

Politics of Insult is a deliberate strategy, where politicians/political campaigners use personal attacks, by demeaning the opponent‘s character, intelligence or appearance rather than addressing the governance issues or policies through debates. It is driven by political candidates, official spokespersons and Party communicators, using it as a calculated tool to attract and or distract voters by provoking emotional attractions, with acts of discrediting rivals especially when substantive policy arguments are lacking.

Culture of insults is the broader/pervasive social atmosphere where rudeness and name-calling replace disciplined, respectful dialogue across society. It is strategic and sometimes monetized with specific individuals, or ‘keyboards’ warriors, sponsored to launch verbal assaults in societal and systemic environment where such abusive behavior become normalized due to rewarding with appointments or money, scholarships etc. So these are some of the motivation or factors or the oxygen for its adoption by the Public. So prevention is discouraging bad conducts by talking against it and stop the rewarding of bad conducts.

Culture of insults is done by social media users, youth mimicking leaders, and sensationalized media platforms. It is functioned as an expected norm, where toxic discourse is applauded, amplified, and fed back into the political platform. Making it to be systemic and deep-rooted thus lower public standards of accountability, this degrades traditional values of respect.

The differences between the two, is that Politics of Insult is a targeted political weapon used by political elites and their associates whereas Culture of Insult is the wider polluted ecosystem that surrounds and sustain it. Politics of Culture is an act catalyzed by political leaders while Culture of insults is the resulting societal decay where everyone feels free to abuse others.

Both Culture of insults and Politics of Insult should not be confused with permissible custom of banter, teasing/joking to some extent custom of insults in some parts of Ghana. Some tribes in Ghana especially the Bono tribe (Wenchi, Techiman etc) have a season during which the subjects are free to vilify their local traditional leaders. This is sometimes regarded as part of political/spiritual cleansing by getting their leaders to act as appropriate.

Another example in Ghana is the situation in some communities in Northern Ghana, especially the Gonjas, Grunshies, Sissala etc are fellow playing mates with exchange of banter/insults. These Ghanaian tribes and the Zambrama people from Mali and Niger are regarded as fellow playing mates and thus share jokes or insults. Based on fellow playing mates ecosystem they have a common custom of banter/teasing or acceptable insults between them.

So these mentioned tribes, are allowed by their culture to insult, joke, vilify or belittle the other tribe when they happened to meet. The insulted person is expected to response with an equal insult with a smile. The playing mate situation reportedly is meant for social harmony, defusing historical tension, reinforcing cross-cultured alliance, intermarriages and political competition.

History tells that both the politics of insult and the culture of insults persisted since the birth of the Gold Coast. The situation in Modern Ghana motivated General IK Acheampong, as the Chairman of the Supreme Military Council 1 (SMC1) in late 1977 to propose and attempted to introduce a system of government he termed as Union Government (UNIGOV) which in his own words was to end the rancor and the acrimony and tribal politics.

The politics of insult seemingly appeared dead when it gave way to the Culture of Silence in the era of the PNDC. Both intensified with the birth of the stable Democracy in the Fourth Republic as anchored by the 1992 Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech and expression.

The Politics of Insults and Culture of Insults hereafter as Culture of Insults since this is broader term was resurrected in the 4^th Republic and was fueled by the rise of competitive multi-party politics between the two dominant and viable political parties as the NDC and NPP and with the rapid expansion of the air waves by the inclusion of private TV and Radio Stations in the Media Space.

This situation, coupled with the IT Revolution, caused their messages to reach millions of people within a split of a second as against the hitherto monopoly of the news/entertainment etc items broadcast by GBC of the State. Hence, controlled by the State with her earlier analogue Communication system initially with re-diffusing boxes later on with Akasonoma Radios/TVs equipment.

So, with the Radio and TV Revolutions with the entry of private systems resulted in air waves reaching millions of people and this gave birth to radio and TV partisan panelists and serial callers in the media ecosystem. Most of them with provocative remarks which drew the attentions of the opponent hence a push back or retaliatory actions. Since Actions and Reactions are equal and opposite, as postulated by Isaac Newton, in the Newton’s Third Law of Motion as in Physics lessons.

Political parties thrived on manufacturing of disagreement/propaganda, these lead to politicians to constantly insult and denigrate opponents. The Digital and Social Media, in the recent years with platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter (X), and TikTok etc have further weaponized political rhetoric by allowing anonymous and direct vitriols to overshadow issue based governance.

History tells that Kevin Taylor based in the United States, allegedly an aggrieved member of the NPP, through his Social Media Platform termed as Loud Silence Media vilified the Regime of President Nana Addo sometimes with insults. Unfortunately, some Judges, Heads of some Faith Base Institutions. Traditional leaders especially the Ashantehene, and some Chiefs were not exempted. So they had their fair share of his insults for reasons best known to him.

So, with the Digital and Social Media, gave him thousands of followers with some regarded as one fighting for them by speaking to the hearing of or openly to the authorities of their problems. So the Action by Mr Kevin Taylor motivated a Reaction or a pushback battles in Facebook, YouTube, TikTok etc by various personalities as opponents of Mr Kevin Taylor and associates’ actions to ensure an equilibrium of the Action and Reaction war in line with Newton’s 3^rd Law of Motion of Action and Reaction are equal and opposite, This saw the personality as Ghana Jollof allegedly as one Barbara leading as the principal responder of Mr Kevin Taylor’s vitriol Actions in the Culture of Insults ecosystem.

So, in the Political arena, Mr Kevin Taylor with his seemingly loathsome platform who by default was/is labeled as a member or sympathizer of the NDC, and as stated this gave birth to the TikTok personality as Ghana Jollof working for the interest of the NPP. History tells that Ghana Jollof started the push back or vitriol reactions to the vitriol actions of Mr Kevin Taylor before the 2024 National and Presidential Election. So both were tolerated till date until Ms Salomey Awiti Bafoh, an associates of Ghana Jollof was arrested by the Ghana Police.

Thus the vitriol with insults battle between Ghana Jollof and associates and Mr Kevin Taylor and associates erupted in the social media in an attempt to obey the Isaac Newton’s third law of motion of actions and reactions are equal and opposite.

So one can say that the latest intense culture of insults with the very damaging hate speeches, reckless abuse of persons or the bitter tone in public discourses became a serious matter of public concern, with the President warning the Security Agencies not to create underserved Martyrs with the proliferation of social media or online portals of bloggers, content creators etc and the building of unrest with the arrest by Security Agencies of persons who are members or sympathizers of the NPP.

The arrests of sympathizers of the NPP on the allegation of publication of false news /hate speeches continued with the most disturbing one was the arrest of a Nurse by name Ms Salomey Awiti Bafoh in the camp of Ghana Jollof, around the very late night time of 11pm and sent to Accra by the Police instead of to the Techiman Police Division or any of its subunit within her areas (District or Region) for spreading false news and incendiary comments against the Government through electronic media especially through the social media handle as TikTok, She was therefore charged for false news publication and incendiary comments against the Government of the Day.

So the situation of Culture of Insult reached a crescendo in September 2026, in what as stated above could be termed as Actions and Reactions are equal and opposite as postulated by Isaac Newton, in his third law of motion of Actions and Reactions are equal and opposite.

This made some people including the seasoned Lawyer namely Mr Martin Kpebu held the viewpoint that if Mr Kevin Taylor stops his broadsides or action accounts, the reactive accounts will virtually fade away. A breakdown of how this social media proxy war plays out under a copied Bogobiri’s “action and reaction Cycle" theory:

The Action-Reaction Cycle
Applying the Newton's third law of motion—that action and reaction are equal and opposite to the current political and social media landscape in Ghana, the following are submitted:

1. Perspective of National Patriotic Party (NPP): Many members/sympathizers and Commentators of the NPP argued that Ghana Jollof’s aggressive TikTok videos were/are a direct reaction to years of unprovoked attacks, corruption allegations and insults by Kevin Taylor against their leadership. Also as a response to insults of the King of the Ashanti Kingdom, Chiefs, and some public figures. They argued that the State Law Enforcement Agencies aggressively conducted/conduct legal pursuit and manhunts against their affected associate especially TikTokers like Ghana Jollof. They are angered with the arrest and prosecution of namely Ms Salomey Awiti Bafoh, an affiliate of Ghana Jollof, while Mr Taylor operates freely. They also allegedly that Mr Kevin Taylor was given a VIP Treatment /red carpet treatment, with the use of the VIP areas at Accra International Airport and that he was provided with an expansive executive staff’s lodge when he came to Ghana.
2. Perspective of the National Democratic Congress (NDC): Conversely the NDC and independent commentators point out that Mr Kevin Taylor's commentary during the regime of President Nana Addo relied on investigative documents and exposing institutional wrongdoings, with some people claimed that his bitter tongues should be attributed to bad treatment by the NPP Administration of His Excellency Mr Nana Addo, a former President, that it should be seen as an aggrieved member attacking his own associates.

The state of affairs has sparked the current national conversations against the culture of insults with a call by His Excellency President Mahama to both the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFA) and the Ghana Journalists Association to jointly convene and lead National Stakeholders Dialogue on hate speeches, abusive online content and digital communication. This has received the support of the Speaker of Parliament.

Key Steps to End the Culture of Insults

Is a "Handshake between Mr Kevin Taylor and Ghana Jollof" Possible?: While a peace offering or a diplomatic resolution through the would significantly de-escalate the toxic political rhetoric online, but due to the three below core realities, a simple handshake remains highly unlikely:

1. Asymmetrical Platforms: Kevin Taylor operates from the United States, a highly structured, widely viewed media house called Loud Silence Media, whereas Ghana Jollof acts primarily as an anonymous or decentralized viral entity on TikTok.
2. Political Incentives: Both figures serve as media weapons for opposing sides of the Ghanaian political spectrum. The ongoing friction generates immense traffic, huge profit TikTok etc, financial monetization, and political leverage that neither side is eager to give up.
3. Legal Obstacles: The situation has moved past mere internet drama. Since, the Ghana Police Service has complicated the matters with the hasty arrest and active investigation prosecution of Ms Salomey Awiti Bafoh, regarded as the corresponding opponent of Mt Kevin Taylor in the copied Bogobiri’s law of Politics of Insults. Thus the action by the Ghana Police by making this as a formal legal criminal matter rather than a personal dispute that can be settled with a handshake otherwise at civil court.

Retired Major Mohammed Bogobiri’s physics analogy should be regarded as spot on: since the vitriol from one side continuously fuels the retaliation of the other. However, breaking this law of political motion will likely require strict fair legal accountability to deal with both sides of the divide and a collective decision by the public to stop rewarding insult-driven content with views/comments.

The key steps or the best way to stop the culture of insult in Ghana is for political leaders, media houses, and citizens to collectively reject personal attacks and enforce fair accountability from the top down approach. Faith Base Institutions can also help by speaking against the state of affairs and educate their congregants to be very civil in their public discourses. Following points provided:

1. Political Leadership: Political leaders from major parties like the NPP and NDC must publicly disavow/reject abusive languages and call their communicators and surrogate commentators to order. The Political leaders must model issue-based campaigning instead of rewarding or shielding vitriolic proxy speakers. So Leadership accountability require political party leaders should actively discipline and call their communicators and supporters to order instead of rewarding aggressive conducts.
2. Media Responsibility: Media houses and station managers must prioritize professional journalism over sensationalism and stop giving airtime to abusive panelists. Regulatory bodies like the National Media Commission need to strictly enforce ethical guidelines for radio, television, and online broadcasts. So Media Responsibility requires that TV/Radio Stations networks, online platforms should enforce strict codes of behavior, prioritizing issue -based debates over sensationalism.
3. Citizen Action and Social Media: Need for emotional maturity by refusing to share, like, or amplify insulting content on social media etc. The wrong accusations, propaganda, insults, defamation and aspersions like thieves, unsubstantiated allegation which are pervasive in our body politics may discourage good persons to join political parties to compete for political offices or to be political actors. Thus cutting off the oxygen supply that fuel toxic conducts is very crucial. So, Citizens must stop applauding, sharing, or rewarding online insults and toxic commentary on social media platforms. Online users should embrace digital maturity by focusing arguments on policy, development, and national issues rather than character assassination. Citizens should therefore refuse to reward insults with anger or retaliation and instead respond with calm boundaries, strategic silence or neutral redirection. Financially rewarding online trolls and inflammatory commentators on social media should be stopped.
4. Social and Cultural Standards: Communities should reinforce traditional Ghanaian values of humility, respect for elders, and civility in public discourses. Stakeholders, like chiefs and leaders and members of religious bodies must hold public dialogue to confront rising inclivity and reject the normalization of vulgar language in public spaces.
5. Law Enforcement Agency/Court: Avoid criminalizing speech. Using arrest and imprisonment to punish offensive remarks, will risk undermining free expression and revive Culture of silence. The best way is through collective dialogue and active leadership accountability and not relying on criminal arrest, persons felt offended should use civil suit or appropriate legal and regulatory consequences for cyber bullying. The law Enforcing Agencies must ensure to be professional fair loyal to the Constitution so defamation must be applied fairly without suppressing legitimate, constructive dissent.