American TikToker Accuses Ghana Police Officers of Abducting Her, Seizing Personal Items
- American TikToker Ari Mackey sparked intense debate after claiming in a December 7 video that she was kidnapped and robbed by alleged Ghana Police officers
- Mackey alleged that the men, who covered their licence plate and wore no name tags, took her cash, phones, and cameras, and forced her to make a withdrawal from an ATM
- Her claims triggered mixed reactions online, with many Ghanaians stating that if her allegation was true, then the perpetrators were not police officers
A popular American TikToker, Ari Mackey, has sparked heated debate on social media after accusing officers within the Ghana Police Service of kidnapping and robbing her.
Source: TikTok
In a video shared to her over 34,000 followers on TikTok on December 7, Mackey claimed that she ran into a Ghana Police checkpoint on the night of December 6 while out with friends.
According to her, they were in an Uber when they were stopped by officers with masks on in a patrol vehicle with its license plates covered and with the officers having no name tags on.
"I was kidnapped and robbed by the police in Ghana. I was kidnapped by three masked police officers. They covered their license plate, they had no name badges, and they completely covered their faces,” she said.
She stated that immediately she spoke and they realised her accent was foreign, the supposed ‘officers’ decided to extort money from them on the spot.
“They heard my accent, and they decided they were going to take us. They checked our bags and our bodies, and when they looked in my bag and found I had cash, they decided I needed to get in the car. They told me to get in the car. I tried to ask why and if there was anything else we could do to handle this, but they said no. They got mad every time I tried to ask a question.”
Mackey said the officers took her cash, phones and cameras and also placed them in their vehicle for a ride. She said she was eventually forced to withdraw some more cash from an ATM to give to them.
Describing the experience as making her feel ‘powerless’, Mackey delivered a warning against coming to Ghana for Detty December.
"If you're going to Accra for Detty December or going at all, make sure you don't look rich. And don’t talk back to the police because they would straight up take you," she said.
Below is the TikTok video of Ari Mackey speaking about her experience in Ghana.
According to her TikTok page, Mackey, who has just over 30,000 followers, won a trip abroad due to a brand sponsorship deal.
Below is a TikTok video of her speaking about her trip.
Ghanaians react to alleged kidnapping of TikToker
YEN.com.gh compiled some comments reacting to the video of Ari Mackey speaking about being allegedly kidnapped in Ghana.
Ohenewah 🇬🇭🇨🇦 said:
"There’s no police officer who is masked in Ghana."
Rose.mry 🤎 wrote:
"This is definitely not the Ghana police, and I’m standing on that."
Itsmemaabena ❤️🩹🇰🇼🇨🇩 commented:
"The Uber driver knows the people. There weren't Ghana police. Ghana police are very well behaved, especially around foreigners."
Sheba Afia Kissiwaah said:
"Ghana police will not kidnap you. They will just ask you to give "something for the boys" 😒."
Source: TikTok
American quits job and relocates to Ghana
Previously, YEN.com.gh reported that an American lady quit her job to relocate to Ghana to start her own business.
In a video, the woman shared her experiences running a shea butter business in Ghana.
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
