UTV's Abena Kyei Boakye Slammed Over False Thomas Partey Canada Visa Claim
- UTV presenter Abena Kyei Boakye faced backlash for falsely claiming Thomas Partey had been granted a Canadian visa
- Social media accounts, including CDR Africa, debunked the claim, noting the court hearing had not yet taken place
- Thomas Partey was earlier denied a visa, threatening his availability for Ghana's 2026 World Cup opener against Panama
- In an interview with YEN.com.gh, Chris Kofi Osei, the Managing Editor of Zionfelix.net, addressed the controversy surrounding UTV and Abena Kyei Boakye
Despite Media presenter Abena Kyei Boakye is facing heavy backlash from Ghanaians after falsely claiming Thomas Partey had been granted a Canadian visa.
Source: Twitter
The Black Stars midfielder and deputy captain was denied a visa to enter Canada, ruling him out of Ghana’s FIFA World Cup opener against Panama on June 17, 2026.
The government of Ghana filed an expedited appeal before a court in Canada, which was scheduled to be heard at 1 p.m. West African Time on Tuesday, June 16.
Hours before the hearing was scheduled to begin, reports emerged on Twitter that Thomas Partey had won his case and been granted a Canadian visa.
Many expressed scepticism over the news, but UTV Ghana quelled those doubts after appearing to confirm the claim on air.
Presenter Abena Kyei Boakye stated during a broadcast that breaking news indicated that the embattled midfielder had received his visa.
Twitter account The State News reposted UTV’s video with the caption:
“BREAKING — Thomas Partey has been granted a Canadian visa ahead of the FIFA World Cup clash against Panama.”
The Twitter video of Abena Kyei Boakye announcing the supposed overruling of the Partey decision is below.
Ghanaians blast UTV and Abena Kyei Boakye
Shortly after the news went viral, other accounts debunked it, reporting that the hearing had yet to commence.
Popular X account CDR Africa emphatically stated that the news was fake, directly contradicting the claim from UTV Ghana.
“False news alert: Reports claiming Thomas Partey has been granted a Canadian visa are false. Ghana’s government is still challenging the refusal in court. The hearing is scheduled for 14:00 BST (1 pm GMT) in Ottawa,” their post wrote.
Popular influencer Kwadwo Sheldon also slammed UTV Ghana, querying them over the source of their information.
“So where UTV get dema news from ?😭” he wondered.
The tweets prompted angry responses from Ghanaians, many of whom slammed UTV for failing to carry out due diligence before sharing reports.
The blunder arrived weeks after the station faced backlash for prematurely announcing that it had secured the rights to air the World Cup.
Below is the Twitter post slamming UTV over the false claims about Thomas Partey's visa.
Reactions to Abena Kyei Boakye’s Thomas Partey claim
YEN.com.gh compiled some comments reacting to the video of Abena Kyei Boakye sharing potentially false information about Thomas Partey.
LegitJobProvider✒️🇬🇭 said:
"Adey shock serf."
Nana kwasi sark wrote:
"Dem for come apologise fast fast. What’s all this? Can’t you fact-check and cross-check as a media institution/ journalist? This be too bad."
Gorilla commented:
"They just read bloggers' posts."
Entertainment journalist addresses UTV's Partey controversy
In an interview with YEN.com.gh, Chris Kofi Osei, the Managing Editor of Zionfelix.net, addressed the controversy surrounding UTV and Abena Kyei Boakye.
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"This is a huge warning about the dangers of rushing to 'break' news. It's obvious that what happened was Abena Kyei Boakye was alerted to the news while on-air by her producers and she read it out, so she can't carry full blame here. Her producers deserve a fair share of the blame," he said.
Source: Instagram
Despite Media apologises for World Cup claim
Previously, YEN.com.gh reported that Despite Media faced backlash after claiming to have secured the rights to broadcast the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The station posted about securing the rights, then later apologised for sharing false information, sparking an angry response from Ghanaians.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
