Akuapem Poloo jailed: Ghana court sentence Rosemond Brown to 90 days in jail

Ghanaian actress, Rosemond Brown, better known as Akuapem Poloo, has been sentenced to three months in prison by an Accra Circuit Court, over the publication of “obscene material and domestic violence”.

The actress was sentenced for her Instagram post where she went naked while posing with her seven-year-old son in June 2020. Explaining the picture, she wrote:

I’m naked in front of you because this is how naked I was giving birth to you, so in case you find me naked lying somewhere don’t pass by me but rather see me as your mom who brought you to life. Happy birthday to you @sonof_poloo

The Child Rights International, a child rights organization, petitioned the Ghanaian Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to look into the matter. In a released statement, they wrote:

As a child rights organisation, we deem this act as a violation of the Welfare Principle of the Children’s Act and abuse of the child’s rights to privacy and dignity. We wish to notify your esteemed office to investigate the taking of the said images and its circulation.

The actress had faced serious backlash over the photoshoot. It was stated that she pleaded for mercy as the court sentenced her to 90 days in jail.

“Mummy please, Mummy, I beg you, Mummy please,” she reportedly said to the female judge who sentenced her.

Poloo’s lawyer, Andy Vortia, had prayed for a more lenient sentence, but the court held that a harsh sentence must be passed to serve as a deterrent to others.

The actress was convicted on her own plea after she had pleaded “guilty” to three counts of publication of “obscene materials, engaging in domestic violence namely a conduct that in any way undermine another person’s privacy or integrity, and engaging in domestic violence namely conduct that in any way detracted or was likely to detract from another person’s dignity and worth as a human being.”