Shalimar Abbiusi, former spokesperson for the New Force Movement, says she was not formally contracted or paid for her involvement with the political group.

According to her, her involvement with the group began unexpectedly during a charitable work linked to flooding in the Volta Region.

Speaking on the Connected Minds Podcast monitored by GhanaWeb on May 15, 2026, Shalima admitted that she initially did not know the project had political connections.

“I obviously didn’t know there was politics behind. A few days after I received a call … they asked me a lot of questions about the New Force. There was no contract in place. So, I was not paid for the job that I did. I was never paid for that video", she remarked.

Shalimar further explained that her first encounter with members of the movement happened was during a relief donation exercise.

“We saw some other people come out to donate and show support, and that happened to be the New Force people. They came to donate as well… that was the first time I had met them,” she recounted.

Shalimar stated that she later agreed to act as spokesperson after what she believed was a humanitarian engagement, without understanding the political implications at the time.

“We decided to have a meeting, and that is when I was offered the role as spokesperson for the movement… I thought I was going to be the face of a humanitarian project. I love to do that kind of work,” she narrated.

'The New Force' spokesperson Shalimar Abbiusi released

The former New Force Movement spokesperson said the promotional video that went viral was recorded quickly before any formal agreement was signed.

“There was no contracting in place or anything when that video was shot. They said let’s do a try, let’s see how it’s going to come across on camera. Everything went very, very fast. I think the video came out maybe a week or two after we recorded it.

“Within 24 hours of releasing the video, I had 1.2 million views on X, which made the video go viral,” Shalimar recounted.

She said the attention from the video led to a call from immigration authorities and her subsequent deportation.

Despite pressure from her family to leave Ghana afterwards, she chose to return after being legally cleared, describing the experience as a "blessing in disguise.

“They were not so comfortable with me coming back initially… and I was like no, I know I haven’t done anything wrong. I’ve been vindicated by a court judgment. I don’t have any charges here in Ghana, I’ve been fully cleared. I know where my home is, and it is on the continent,” she noted.

JKB/VPO

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