President John Dramani Mahama has said he remains unfazed by insults directed at him on social media, stressing that his years in public life have prepared him to withstand criticism.
Speaking at a townhall meeting with the Ghanaian community in New York on Friday, September 25, 2026, Mr Mahama said he distinguished between personal insults, which he could tolerate, and conduct that could raise broader questions about public safety and responsible communication.
The President said he had experienced intense criticism throughout his political career, including being voted out of office, and had therefore developed resilience to public attacks.
“As a leader I don’t mind being insulted. I’ve been insulted, I was vilified, I was voted out of office so me this skin is a crocodile skin,” he said.
Mr Mahama said his priority remained contributing to Ghana’s development and advancing the interests of the country and the African continent.
“I don’t mind the insults but all of us have to decide what do we want to do with TikTok,” he said.
His comments came amid public discussion over police arrests linked to alleged social media activity and the boundaries between free expression and unlawful conduct online.
Mr Mahama said he was concerned about arrests based solely on insults, indicating that not every offensive statement should necessarily result in police action.
He said he sometimes learnt about such arrests through the media and was concerned about the reasons cited for some of them.
“Sometimes the reason for which the person has been arrested really, I mean they say he’s insulted me and you look at this and it can’t be good for the person to be arrested,” he said.
The President said Ghana nevertheless needed to determine how threats and other potentially unlawful online conduct should be treated, arguing that the debate should be settled through consultation with media and other stakeholders.
