Joyce Bawah Mogtari, an aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, has criticized Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia recent comments about the role of religion in his upbringing.
In a tweet posted on August 3, 2022, Bawah Mogtari wondered if the Vice President was a Christian or Muslim.
Dr. Bawumia’s at an event in Accra disclosed that he was an active member of Methodist Boys’ Brigade until his mum changed to Islam.
Bawah Mogtari believes the Vice President’s claims are fake. She has further asked Dr. Bawumia to desist from the religious commentary and focus on fixing the economy which has been on a downturn in recent times.
“So pray tell, one is either Muslim, Christian, Atheist or whatever so asking for a friend is @MBawumia a Christian or a Muslim, why is he suddenly putting out fake storylines about his faith. All we ask is Mr. VEEP please fix the economy,” her tweet read.
What Bawumia said
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, while speaking at the launch of the 175th-anniversary celebrations of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana (EPCG) in Accra on Sunday, July 31, 2022, called for a peaceful coexistence amongst all religious sects.
He cited himself as a testament to how different faiths can co-exist.
He disclosed that growing up with a Methodist mother he was an active part of a Methodist Boys' grouping.
All that changed when his mother, then Susana Mariama, reverted to Islam - the faith her husband practised.
“We live in a society where a mother and some children could be Christians and a father and some children could be Muslims. As a young boy at Sakasaka primary school in Tamale, I was born to a Methodist mother (then Susana Mariama) and a Muslim father.
"Growing up I was an active member of the Methodist Boys’ Brigade until my mum changed to Islam. I suspect I am the only Muslim member of the Boys’ Brigade. Till date, out of my seventeen siblings, nine are Christians and eight are Muslims. That is the beauty of the religious acceptance in Ghana,” he revealed.
In September 2021, Bawumia lost his mother, Hajia Mariama Bawumia. She passed on in Accra at 81 and was buried later beside her husband in Kperiga, near Walewale in the Northeast Region.
