Independent presidential candidate Nana Kwame Bediako, widely known as Cheddar, claimed to have presented a petition in the UK Parliament after an address in which he apologised for Africa’s misdeeds and called for a greater partnership with the continent.
In a post shared on X on October 11, 2024, he bragged about this feat, describing himself as the “first African leader to apologise on behalf of African leaders for their mistakes, which have caused us economic crises, currency devaluation, stagnant development, etc.”
He also indicated that he was the first African leader to “present a petition on English soil in the UK Parliament, urging the world to refrain from using their foreign influences to instigate our political systems and become our international commercial partners instead.”
The post was accompanied by a video showing him addressing an audience that he suggested was in the UK Parliament.
But was Cheddar at the UK Parliament, and did he present any petition to them?
FactCheckGhana investigated the matter. Here is what they found:
1. Cheddar’s address was not an official event of the UK Parliament.
When Fact-Check Ghana reached out to the Press Office of the UK Parliament, they confirmed the parliament did not officially invite Cheddar, and that it was hosted by Siobhan McDonagh MP. Thus, Cheddar’s address was not to the official UK Parliament but rather a private meeting hosted by a member of parliament.
“We can confirm that this was not an official Parliamentary event. It was hosted by MP Siobhain McDonagh,” a spokesperson of the Communications Office of the UK Parliament said in an email.
The first African leader to apologise on behalf of African leaders for their mistakes which have caused us economic crisis, currency devaluation, stagnant development etc. Apart from apologising he s also the first to present a petition on English soil in the uk parliament urging… pic.twitter.com/3pAvwFEZ9G
— Nana Kwame Bediako (@OsagyefoNKB) October 11, 2024
FactCheckGhana also found that Cheddar’s address was not held in the chambers of the House of Commons or the House of Lords, where most official parliamentary meetings are held, as claimed.
2. Cheddar had his engagement at a committee office.
It was also discovered that the independent candidate for Ghana’s 2024 presidential election had his engagement in one of the committee rooms of the UK Parliament on October 10, 2024.
According to FactCheckGhana, visuals of the event shared by Cheddar and his Romanian associate, Shalimar Abbuisi, show a large artwork, “Alfred Inciting the Saxons to Prevent the Landing of the Danes,” which was “bought by the Fine Arts Commissioners to hang in a Committee Room in the Houses of Parliament, where it remains today.”
A historical night at the UK parliament.
— Shalimar (Shallie) Abbiusi (@Shallie_Abbiusi) October 11, 2024
It was an honour to speak as international spokesperson and advocate of change at the UK parliament where Nana Kwame Bediako petitioned for ‘The pilars to economic freedom’ pic.twitter.com/G97pVs7EI1
“The photos and videos indicate that Cheddar’s event was held in House of Commons Committee Room 10. This was also confirmed by the Heritage Collection department of the UK Parliament,” parts of the report by the fact-checker read.
It added that the fact that the event did not receive international media coverage affirms that Cheddar's engagement was unofficial and was not held in any of the chambers of the UK Parliament.
Read the full story published on October 14, 2024 by fact-checkghana.com/
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