Theodosia Okoh's Nephew Reacts After Bank of Ghana Rep Defends New GH¢50 Heritage Banknote Portrait

• Professor Eddie Obeng, nephew of Ghana's national flag designer Theodosia Okoh, pointed to AI as the likely source of the portrait controversy on the new GH¢50 Heritage Series note
• Obeng suggested an AI tool may have confused images of Okoh with those of his mother, scientist Dr Letitia Obeng, due to a surname search error
• His comments follow a Bank of Ghana board member's public defence of the portrait on the newly unveiled banknote

Professor Eddie Obeng, nephew of Ghana's national flag designer Theodosia Salome Okoh, has suggested that artificial intelligence might be responsible for the disputed portrait featured on the newly released GH¢50 Heritage Series banknote.

Obeng shared his theory in a LinkedIn post on Friday, 13 November 2026, following a public statement by Beatrice Annan, a member of the Bank of Ghana's board, defending the accuracy of the portrait on the note amid controversy after the new currency's launch on Thursday, November 12, 2026.

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Professor Eddie Obeng's AI theory amid controversy

In his post, the professor outlined a possible sequence of events that could explain how the wrong image ended up on the banknote.

He suggested that the Bank of Ghana may have started with an existing photograph of an older Theodosia Okoh and then tasked an AI tool with sourcing younger images of her using her maiden surname, Asihene.

According to Obeng, the AI likely returned photographs of his mother, renowned Ghanaian scientist Dr Letitia Obeng, whose images surfaced more prominently online following a recent funeral.

He added that the system may have then digitally altered the retrieved image, adjusting the smile and head tilt to better match an older reference photo, compounding the error without any human noticing.

"The fault is with AI," Obeng wrote plainly, while also noting that he believed no individual at the bank was directly culpable. "My guess is this was no one's fault. No one at the bank is directly to blame," he said.

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He also made a wry reference to market conditions, linking the episode to broader questions about AI reliability:

"And yet another reason why the NVIDIA share price has collapsed."

Theodosia Okoh's portrait controversy on GH¢50 note

The dispute began after the Bank of Ghana unveiled the Heritage Series banknotes honouring Theodosia Okoh, the woman credited with designing Ghana's national flag on Thursday, November 12, 2026.

After its launch, Professor Obeng raised concerns that the portrait bore a closer resemblance to his mother Dr Letitia Obeng than to the late flag designer, drawing significant public attention to the matter.

The Bank of Ghana subsequently defended the portrait, with board member Beatrice Annan publicly asserting that the image accurately depicted Okoh.

Obeng's latest post comes as a direct response to that defence, maintaining that the error likely occurred at the point of image sourcing rather than through any deliberate act.

See a screenshot of the LinkedIn post below:

Ohemaa Woyeje reacts to new cedi notes

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"It's not her": Theodosia Okoh's nephew raises concern over woman featured on new GH¢50 banknote

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported about Ohemaa Woyeje’s reaction to the Heritage Series banknotes, which she praised for reflecting the country’s history and identity.

But her question about whether a future government might change the designs again sparked a wider conversation about who gets to shape Ghana’s story on its currency—and whether these notes would stand the test of time.

Source: YEN.com.gh