Joyce Bawah Mogtari’s $2,710 Handbag Sparks NPP, NDC Battle

A handbag carried by Joyce Bawah Mogtari, Presidential Advisor and Special Aide to President John Dramani has sparked public outrage.

Within the political arena, it has resulted in a battle of words between NPP and NDC members. It all started when Joyce Bawah posted a photo of herself on social media in Germany holding a bag said to be a Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandouliere bag which costs $2,710 equivalent to GHc 41,869.50.

The presidential advisor was in Germany with her boss, the President attending an international conference.

The photo elicited strong reactions from NPP activists on social media, who questioned how Joyce Bawah has started so soon to exhibit extravagant lifestyle in government.

Tamakloe disagrees
Edudzi Kudzo Tamakloe, the NDC’s Director, Legal, appeared furious about the NPP’s attack on Joyce Bawah. Taking to Facebook, he wrote, “Joyce Bawah Mogtari has practiced law almost for more than half of my entire stay on this Earth. I find such commentaries not distasteful but also a mindset that anyone associated with the NDC is not entitled to anything good.”

NPP activists fires
But, the NPP members will not take any lessons from Edudzi.

One persons wrote: “It’s quite amusing to see NDC supporters vigorously defending the luxurious display of an over $2k bag by Joyce Bawah, the Special Advisor to the President. Their argument is that as a lawyer, Madam Joyce Bawah Mogtari can afford such an expensive item. However, this raises questions about the double standards at play.”

Another person stated: “I have read a post by Edudzi Tamakloe lamenting about attacks on Joyce Bawah Mogtari following her extravagant lifestyle a few weeks after she was appointed into the Mahama government.

“Joyce is spotted with a highly expensive ladies’ bag on X (Twitter), fuelling posts upon posts on her newly acquired taste for expensive clothes and other products. Edudzi cannot fathom why Joyce Bawah, who has worked for over 20 years as a lawyer, is being attacked for buying such a luxurious and an expensive bag because, in his estimation, Joyce can afford this bag.

Wonders, they say, can never end! Today, Joyce Bawah, according to Edudzi, can afford such a bag with a colossal price tag because she has the means to acquire it. When Samira was spotted with such fashionable bags, she was accused of profligacy.“

Another NPP member posted: “Today, if Joyce Bawa, an aide to President Mahama who in the past wasn’t seen using such bags, suddenly appears with even more expensive bags at national events, netizens have to ask questions.“