Why Veep’s press secretary is being roasted on social media

GhanaWeb reported on Friday, October 23, 2026, that Ama Pratt, the Press Secretary to Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has faced intense backlash on social media following the circulation of a video clip from a recent JoyNews interview. You know, it is one thing for government spokespersons to navigate the routine, carefully calibrated boundaries of political communication and media relations, but it is an entirely different reality when a representative of the nation’s highest female office responds with prolonged laughter to a serious inquiry about the alleged sexual abuse of nineteen schoolgirls, sparking widespread public outrage and accusations of profound insensitivity.

The Office of the Vice President, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES), and the broader national frameworks for gender equity, child protection, and public communication are institutionally mandated to foster the absolute safety and dignity of vulnerable students, ensure the rigorous and transparent handling of sexual misconduct allegations, and guarantee that the state’s response to gender-based violence is characterized by empathy, decisiveness, and unwavering moral clarity. When a senior government communicator is perceived as dismissive or evasive regarding a high-profile child protection crisis, it directly tests the core principles of institutional accountability, public trust, and the foundational need to ensure that the mechanisms of state advocacy for women and children are reflected in both policy action and public demeanor.

During the broadcast interview, Pratt was asked whether the Vice President, who also chairs the Police Council, had engaged with the Education Minister, the GES, or the police regarding the escalating Obuasi SHTS scandal. Pratt initially deflected, stating she was not at liberty to discuss the Vice President’s “personal day-to-day interactions.” When the interviewer clarified that he was merely asking for confirmation of official engagement on a matter of grave national concern, Pratt burst into prolonged laughter before offering a generalized, non-committal assurance that “relevant authorities are on top of this issue” and that she could “rest easy” knowing professional support was being provided. This reaction ignited a firestorm on the social media platform X, with critics arguing that her demeanor trivialized a horrific situation. Prominent voices, including academic Wunpini F. Mohammed and gender activist Akosua Manu, condemned the response, with one user noting, “Ama Pratt had the audacity to laugh in the face of a situation this horrific, and tomorrow she’ll turn around and organise Obaa Sima Summit and talk about empowering women.” Critics expressed profound disappointment that the Office of the first female Vice President in Ghana’s history had not issued a firm, empathetic statement condemning the abuse, accusing the communication team of “pussyfooting” and failing to leverage their social capital to demand swift justice for the traumatized victims.

You know, when such intense public scrutiny is directed at the communication strategies of high-ranking government officials, it highlights the critical importance of ensuring that our public institutions consistently align their rhetorical tone with the gravity of the crises they address, so that the fight for gender justice is never undermined by perceived insensitivity or evasive messaging, doesn’t it? As the nation digests this viral controversy and stakeholders reflect on the urgent need for empathetic, transparent, and decisive leadership in the face of gender-based violence, the public continues to monitor the situation, recognizing that robust public communication frameworks and cooperative dialogue between the Office of the Vice President, gender advocacy groups, the media, and the citizenry are vital pillars for ensuring fairness, institutional credibility, and order in Ghana’s developmental and human rights landscape.

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