Akuapem Poloo can be jailed 3 years for nudity – Maurice Ampaw

Renowned Ghanaian legal practitioner, Maurice Ampaw has revealed that actress Akuapem Poloo could face up to 3 years in jail or face a hefty fine for posing nude with her son and posting it on social media.

The actress has been heavily criticized for posting a nude photo of herself and her son to mark the child’s 7th birthday.

The maverick actress has since deleted the photos from the internet but many Ghanaians say the deletion of the photo should not be the end of the matter.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb, July 1, 2020, the outspoken lawyer said Akuapem Poloo’s conduct is against the Child’s protection law as well as a criminal offence.

“The punishment is that when they are found liable, they can be sentenced to 2-3 years, and they can also be fined. They are all criminal offences.”

He explained that though the actress has her body and is entitled to do whatever she wants to do with it, she breaches the law when she decides to post her nudity on social media for public consumption.

“We all have rights and these rights that we have are regulated by law. You have your body, have your privacy with your body and you think you have the right to do whatever you want to do with your body.

“So Akuapem Poloo thought that it is her body, that it is her child so therefore if she decided to go nude before the child, to her it is exercising her rights and it is her privacy. But she has forgotten, that same right is subject to the laws of the land.

“And the laws of the land under section 108 of the Criminal offences Act 29 clearly state that if you go nude, or create a situation whereby you decide to spoil the minds of others, then you will be held responsible. So nudity is prohibited by the laws of the land,” he told GhanaWeb exclusively

He reiterated that making public a nude photo of one’s self or any material that has the potential of defiling and corrupting the minds of the public is a criminal offence.

“There’s a law that talks about obscenity, that if you publish anything that has the potential of debasing, corrupting, defiling and spoiling the mind of observers and readers. The Children Act protects children against all things including materials that pollute the minds of children.”

The celebrity lawyer as he’s fondly called told GhanaWeb that Akuapem Poloo’s conduct will not only leave a psychological scar on her son but it was offensive to the public.

“So we have a child, whose mother decided to go naked before the child, what is the mother doing? The mother is spoiling, debasing, and defiling the child. So Akuapem Poloo’s conduct is not only condemnable, abhorring, it’s very offensive. It is offensive to the public sensitivity and so there’s no way she should not face the consequence of her actions.”

He charged the Police to arrest the actress for her conduct.

“The Police must go all out and use Section 108 and the laws of obscenity, and the child’s interest to arrest her.”

Source: ghanaweb.com