Before they Became Friends, Fritz Baffour had Turned Rawlings Into a Newspaper Character

ACCRA — In a deeply reflective conversation on the Kafui Dey Interviews podcast, veteran communicator, comedian, and politician Fritz Baffour opened up about his multi-layered relationship with Ghana’s late former President, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings. Baffour’s recollections offered a rare, humanizing glimpse behind the formidable political curtain of the Rawlings era, charting a journey that evolved from sharp-witted journalistic parody to a profound, lifelong family bond.

Appearing on the Kafui Dey Interviews podcast, the seasoned broadcaster and former Member of Parliament shared a surprising revelation: his initial relationship with Rawlings existed purely on the pages of a satirical newspaper column. During the height of Rawlings’ political dominance, Baffour penned a popular, tongue-in-cheek column titled Village Gossip. Far from treating the military-turned-civilian leader with kid gloves, Baffour seized upon Rawlings' larger-than-life persona and daily political maneuvers, transforming the Head of State into a recurring character for national parody. "I used him as material," Baffour chuckled, recalling how he distilled complex, tense national politics into accessible, sharp-witted commentary for ordinary Ghanaians. The revelation adds a fascinating layer of irony to Baffour’s legacy. To the contemporary public, Baffour is remembered as a staunch Rawlings loyalist and a pillar of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Yet, his journey began as an independent-minded satirist holding a mirror up to power. Baffour’s transition from a critic weaponizing humor to a trusted confidant highlights a bygone era of political tolerance, where a leader could laugh at his own caricature and eventually embrace the satirist as family.