Health Minister defends handshake with man accused of assaulting hospital staff
By Solomon Nartey Tetteh
The Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has defended his decision to shake hands with Ralph St William, the social media activist accused of assaulting a health worker at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
The incident sparked public outrage after a video surfaced showing the minister warmly greeting the alleged perpetrator shortly after a meeting with hospital management over the matter.
Addressing the press on Thursday, 21 August 2025, Mr Akandoh clarified that the gesture was not an endorsement of the alleged assault but rather an act of courtesy expected of a public official.
“After our meeting with hospital management, I set up a committee to investigate the incident. As we stepped outside, my attention was drawn to a gentleman who I was told was at the centre of the controversy,” he explained.
“So, on approaching me, I asked him, ‘Why did you do what you did?’ The gentleman stretched out his hand, shook me and attempted to whisper something to me. At that point, should I push him away, snub him or shout at him? Even if he had been prosecuted and sentenced to life imprisonment, if he stretched his hand to me, as a minister and a public officer, I have a duty to respond politely,” he said.
The Minister stressed that the handshake in no way undermines the government’s commitment to ensuring accountability in the case.
“The fact that I shook hands with him does not mean the ministry or government will stop any measures to unravel the situation,” Mr Akandoh added.
He further assured that a committee has been constituted to investigate the alleged assault and pledged that appropriate action will be taken once its findings are presented.
