“Different man” – Viral claims target GH¢5 and GH¢1 notes as Heritage Series row grows

According to a report by Ghanaweb on Sunday, November 15, 2026, fresh claims circulating on social media have deepened questions around the Bank of Ghana’s new Heritage Series banknotes, only days after the central bank was forced to defend the portrait on the GH¢50 note. None of the latest allegations has been independently verified.

The first concerns the GH¢5 note, which the Bank says honours Dr James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey, co-founder of Achimota School. Several viral posts insist the face on the note is actually that of George Ekem Ferguson, the Gold Coast surveyor and diplomat. One widely shared post, by lawyer Noah Tietaah Yakubu, sets the portrait beside a historical photograph of Ferguson to make the case. The Bank has not responded, and no relative of either man has confirmed or disputed the claim.

The second involves the reverse of the GH¢1 note, which carries a Makola Market scene. TikTok videos allege that one of the women depicted is a Zimbabwean tourist and influencer, identified as Victoria Esther Nkhama, popularly known as Esther Bosha. According to the videos, she visited Ghana in 2021 and was photographed with market women at Makola, and designers are said to have used the image without realising she was not Ghanaian. The woman on the front of the GH¢1 note, whom the Bank names as Makola trader and independence activist Agnes Oforiwa Tagoe-Quarcoopome, is not the subject of these claims.

The new allegations land while the GH¢50 dispute remains unresolved. The Bank says that note honours Theodosia Salome Okoh, designer of Ghana’s national flag. Social media users, however, said the portrait looked like her sister, Dr Letitia Obeng. Dr Eddie Obeng, Dr Obeng’s son and Mrs Okoh’s nephew, then wrote on LinkedIn that the Bank had used his mother’s photograph.

In response, the Bank explained that the portrait was built from several photographs of Mrs Okoh, and that technical adaptations produced the resemblance to Dr Obeng. That explanation has not settled the debate.

With the notes unveiled only a few days ago, the controversy shows no sign of fading.

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