In a fast-moving media and social media space, the word “allegedly” seems to have become a popular legal ‘safety’ net. It often appears in news reports, Facebook posts, TikTok, X threads, and comment sections whenever sensitive, defamatory, or controversial claims are made.

Even though many believe that once the word is added, legal responsibility, such as a defamation lawsuit,t disappears, legal practitioner Dennis Akwaboah says that belief is wrong.

In an interview with The Mirror in Accra last Wednesday, the Associate with Sustenerri PRUC warned that the careless use of the word “allegedly” could, in fact, land one in jail or be the cause of a hefty fine.

What “allegedly” really means

Mr Akwaboah explains that “allegedly” is a term adopted in legal practice to indicate that an accusation has been made but has not yet been proven.

However, he said the problem began when people used the word without understanding when and how it should apply.

“If you are the one saying it and nobody else is saying it, then you cannot hide behind ‘allegedly’. There must be attribution and some form of verification,” he said.

Journalists, bloggers, and content creators 

The lawyer noted that journalists, bloggers and content creators, in particular, must be careful with how they use the word. He noted that many media reports relied heavily on ‘allegedly’ instead of clearly stating who made a claim.

He explained that it was better to attribute sources rather than use ‘allegedly.’“If it is the police making the statement, say directly that the police said it. If it is from a charge sheet, government official, institution, hospital records, eyewitness accounts or wherever, just mention them. Once you fail to attribute it, it looks like you are the one making the statement,” he said.

“If someone reads it and believes you are the one saying it, then they have a cause of action against you,” he added.

Mr Akwaboah expressed concern about the excessive use of the word by social media users and the general public, who relied on ‘allegedly’ to comment freely on rumours and accusations.

He said the word was often used in comment sections as a shield, especially when people were making serious claims about others.

“People comment on posts and then add ‘allegedly,’ as if that removes responsibility,” he said. 

“You cannot avoid liability by hiding behind someone else’s accusation.”

According to him, even when someone else made a claim, a person who would repeat it must clearly state who made it.

“If Mahama said something, then say Mahama said it. Don’t just say ‘allegedly’ and move on,” he explained.

Proper use

The lawyer clarified that in legal practice, the word was used because of the principle that every person was presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“In court, nobody is guilty until the court says so. That is why lawyers use ‘allegedly’ when referring to accusations against their clients,” he said.

He explained that before a court made a final decision, facts were not settled. In such cases, the word helped reflect that uncertainty.

However, Mr Akwaboah warned against using ‘allegedly’ to describe events that were already known to have happened.

He used the example of a stabbing incident. “If someone has been stabbed and taken to the hospital, instead of saying the person was allegedly stabbed, say where the information is coming from,” he said.

“What ‘allegedly’ does in this case is throw doubt on the occurrence of an event. If everyone knows it happened and you still use ‘allegedly’, you are misleading people,” he explained.

He added that if it turned out the event did happen, then you were the one who lied to the public.

No specific law

When asked about the specific law that backed the use of the word, Mr Akwaboah said there was no specific statute in Ghana which governed the word “allegedly”, but clear principles existed.

He pointed to the 1992 Constitution, which guaranteed the presumption of innocence.

“That constitutional principle allows us to say someone is accused but not yet proven guilty,” he explained.

Despite the risks, Mr Akwaboah noted that Ghana generally had a culture that rarely sued.

He added that our society often discouraged people from suing, even when they felt wronged, with the usual, “leave it to God”. As such, defamatory lawsuits are few.

He said that even though he had not personally experienced someone being taken to court for using ‘allegedly’ wrongly, he believed education on the issue was necessary, especially as online commentary grew.