Nine months of Mahama: Is Ghana’s anti-corruption drive impartial?

Introduction

President John Dramani Mahama returned to office on Jan. 7, 2025, pledging a crackdown on corruption. In the first nine months of his term, he has launched dozens of investigations and new policies. Many probes focus on officials of the outgoing NPP government, though Mahama has also disciplined some of his own appointees. Below is a detailed list of public officials (and some local officers) investigated since Jan. 7, 2025, each with party affiliation, alleged offence, and case status, followed by key anti-corruption initiatives Mahama has instituted.

Investigated Officials (National and Local Level)

• Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo – Chief Justice (no party). An official commission found evidence that she falsified records and misused public funds. Mahama suspended and dismissed her for “abuse of office” on Sept. 1, 2025. (Status: removed from office; criminal charges have been mooted, but none have been public yet.)
  
• Ken Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta – Former Finance Minister (NPP). Accused of corruption in multiple projects (notably the Ghana National Cathedral project and high-value fuel and ambulance contracts). In mid-2025, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) declared Ofori-Atta a wanted fugitive, placed him on an Interpol red notice for failing to answer corruption queries. (Status: under investigation; wanted by authorities abroad.)
  
• Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) is the chairperson of the Ashanti Regional NPP. In May 2025, Ghana’s Deputy Justice Minister announced that EOCO was probing him for fraud, causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering. Asset-recovery actions have begun. (Status: formally under investigation by EOCO.)
  
• Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid – Ex-CEO, National Petroleum Authority (NPP). Alleged mastermind of a GH¢280.5m extortion scheme at the NPA (2022–2024). In July 2025, the OSP charged Abdul-Hamid and others with extortion and money laundering. (Status: formally charged; awaiting trial.)
  
• Jacob Kwamina Amuah – Former Coordinator, Petroleum Pricing Fund (no party). Co-accused with Abdul-Hamid in the NPA graft case. (allegedly delivered illicit cash). (Status: charged in the same case.)
  
• Wendy Newman – Ex-NPA staff (no party). Another co-accused in the NPA extortion/money-laundering case. (Status: charged.)
  
• Issah Seidu – Ex-public official, National Insurance Commission. In 2025, the OSP charged Seidu and three others for corruption involving a fake letter to clear 10 containers of rice at Tema port. (Status: charged; court date pending.)
  
• James Keck Osei (former director at Vice President’s Secretariat), John Abban (Customs Official – no party), Peter A. Hyde (Customs official – no party) – Co-accused with Issah Seidu in the 2025 port rice scam. (Status: charged; awaiting trial.)
  
• Yakubu Tahiru & five others – Civil servants (no party). Six former payroll managers were charged in 2025 with ghost-salary fraud in the Northern Region (wrongful payments to phoney staff). Yakubu Tahiru, former teacher of Bolagu M/A Junior High School at Yendi, Abdullah Abubakari Sadic — Integrated Personal Payroll Database Coordinator, GES at Yendi, Sammy Suuk — Schools Improvement, Balogu M/A Junior High School at Yendi, Stafford Korletey Azudey-Barres – Assistant Chief Accounts Technician, CAGD in Accra, and Osman Issahaku – Headmaster, Balogu M/A Junior High School, Yendi, all pleaded guilty under plea-bargaining and repaid funds. (Status: convicted via plea; restitution paid.)
  
• Ibrahim Kofi Sessah – Local Government Service officer (no party). Arrested May 2025 for running a GES appointment-letter scam (taking bribes from teacher-applicants). Sessah has pleaded not guilty and was released on bail, and the trial is pending.
  
• Charles C.N. Bissue – Former Secretary, Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (NPP). Charged in April 2025 with multiple counts of “using public office for profit” and bribery in the illegal mining sector. (Status: charged, court proceedings ongoing.)

• Gifty Oware-Mensah: former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NPP). She is one of several officials publicly identified by the Attorney General in June 2025 as a suspect in the GH¢548 million NSA ghost payroll scandal. Allegations include: using 9,934 ghost names on the NSA payroll; using those names as some kind of collateral to secure a loan from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB); allegedly channelling money via a company called Blocks of Life Consult; and misuse of funds to companies she is associated with. She was detained in March 2025 over the ghost-payroll probe. The case is under investigation, and she has been publicly implicated.
  
  
• Andy Thomas Owusu – Colleague of Bissue (NPP). Co-accused with Bissue in the illegal mining corruption case. (Status: charged.)
  
• Over 40 Ministers and Appointees – Mahama’s own NDC government. In May 2025, Mahama docked the pay of 40+ of his ministers/appointees for failing to declare assets as required. (Status: disciplined internally; no prosecutions noted.)
  
• Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chiefs (MMDCEs) – Local officials (various). In June 2025, Mahama gave all MMDCEs a July 15 deadline to declare assets and warned none would be shielded if probed. (Initiative: preventive; no specific charges public yet.)
  

Distribution (NDC vs NPP): Apart from internal discipline of NDC appointees (asset declarations), the named investigations overwhelmingly involve officials from the previous NPP administration. NPP figures like Ofori-Atta and Wontumi have publicly complained that the drive is “politically motivated,” while Mahama counters that he is simply implementing a “zero-tolerance” policy. Notably, Mahama has not shielded even his own side: he sanctioned dozens of NDC ministers for procedural infractions.

Anti-Corruption Initiatives Under Mahama

• ORAL (Operation Recover All Loot): Mahama’s signature anti-graft task force, set up upon his inauguration. In a Feb 2025 State of the Nation address, he said the ORAL committee had collected 2,000+ complaints and handed them to the AG. In June, he announced that ORAL had identified 33 major cases (mainly from the former government), now with the Attorney General for prosecution.
  
• Asset-Declaration Code of Conduct: In early 2025, Mahama introduced a strict Code of Conduct for all appointees. All ministerial and local-government appointees had to file asset declarations by Mar 31 (or July for some MMDCEs). He warned that appointees who failed to comply would be removed. (Example: the 40+ ministers docked pay in May for late asset forms.)
  
• Hotline and Anti-Graft Unit: Mahama pledged a special Presidential Anti-Corruption Unit and a public hotline for tips. Tips go to the Attorney General’s Office for action. This aims to institutionalise citizen complaints as part of ORAL.
  
• EOCO Leadership Change: In February 2025, Mahama appointed veteran investigator Raymond Archer as Acting Deputy Executive Director of EOCO, and by April 2025, as Acting Executive Director. Archer, a former journalist, has been tasked with revamping EOCO’s operations (and has since led high-profile arrests).
  
• Increased Funding & Reforms: In his 2025 budget address, Mahama promised to boost funding for EOCO, OSP, and CID, and improve transparency of their operations. He said reforms (e.g., better reporting, audits) were being put in place to help these bodies “fight corruption without fear or favour.”
  
• Legislative Measures: Mahama vowed to send Parliament a bill to strictly regulate the sale or disposal of public lands and assets, closing loopholes for officials to siphon state property. (Other draft laws targeting graft – e.g., strengthening the Corrupt Practices Act – have been discussed.)
  
• Anti-Galamsey Crackdown: On 15 July 2025, the Attorney-General (at Mahama’s direction) ordered EOCO to investigate two accused illegal-mining kingpins. However, at his media encounter on Sept 10, 2025, President Mahama came under pressure from journalists and activists to declare a state of emergency to handle environmental destruction caused by galamsey. He responded that the government is not rushing into that, insisting that existing laws and powers have not yet been fully utilised, and that a state of emergency would be a last resort. The response drew sharp criticism from environmental advocacy groups. One major point raised was whether the Ghana Gold Board can distinguish between gold from legal mining and galamsey, with allegations suggesting that some purchases may be from illegal sources — a claim that, if true, could complicate the administration’s anti-galamsey credibility.
  
• Public Accountability Actions: Mahama has also empowered the Auditor-General and other watchdogs. For example, in mid-2025, OSP worked with the Accountant-General on a payroll audit that had already removed ₵34.2m in ghost salaries. (The OSP report noted these savings and promised further audits.) Mahama publicly supports such audits as part of his “zero tolerance” policy.

Conclusion

Government statements and media reports record each step from asset declarations to ORAL and legal reforms. Mahama has actively pursued a broad anti-corruption agenda, which has, however, disproportionately involved ex-NPP appointees (Ken Ofori-Atta, Bernard Wontumi, etc.), though he has similarly enforced rules on his own side (punishing NDC ministers for procedural breaches). The drive remains ongoing: Mahama publicly maintains that “every case of corruption that needs to be investigated is being looked into,” as he promised.