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Claim: Facebook users shared an image claiming it shows Ghana Armed Forces personnel working on the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, with some suggesting the new expressway is already in use.
Verdict: False! While the Ghana Armed Forces has cleared the path for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, DUBAWA’s forensic investigation shows the viral image is AI-generated.
Full Text
The Accra-Kumasi Expressway project has remained a major topic of discussion in the Ghanaian media landscape. Recently, Facebook users have repeatedly shared an image claiming it shows Ghana Armed Forces personnel working on the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
On Sept. 11, 2026, Ghanaian photojournalist David Andoh shared the image on Facebook, praising the Ghana Armed Forces and suggesting that the military should play a leading role in Ghana’s engineering, technology, and innovation development.
The caption read: “I like this picture. I think the Ghana Armed Forces should position itself to lead engineering, tech and innovation evolution in Ghana, and that will save us money and bring real development. KUDOS to the men.”
The image shows several uniformed personnel apparently clearing vegetation while heavy machinery operates on a broad, reddish stretch of road.
As of Sept. 28, 2026, the post had approximately 1,200 reactions, 66 comments and 24 shares.
DUBAWA, however, observed that some Facebook users questioned whether the photograph was real or AI-generated.
Other Facebook pages shared the same image.
One Facebook user, Cedi Showbiz 247, shared the image earlier on Sept. 6, 2026, with a caption saying the Accra-Kumasi Expressway was “already showing progress” and claiming reports indicated traffic was using the new route to Kumasi.
The post had approximately 675 reactions, 47 comments and 21 shares.
Meanwhile, Asante News also shared the image while discussing the expressway’s potential economic impact, including trade, jobs, tourism and agriculture. The post got approximately 95 reactions, nine comments and six shares.
The circulation of the same image across multiple pages created the impression that it was an authentic photograph of Ghana Armed Forces personnel working on the expressway.
DUBAWA decided to verify the image.
Verification
DUBAWA first established whether the Ghana Armed Forces was genuinely involved in the Accra-Kumasi Expressway project.
On May 4, 2026, the Ghana Armed Forces reported that its engineers were clearing land within the designated corridor of the proposed expressway.
According to the GAF, troops drawn from its engineering units were operating from a campsite at Asuboa, near Akim Oda in the Eastern Region, clearing greenfields within the designated corridor. Their assignment was to clear the right-of-way within a 175.6-kilometre corridor.
The GAF said the clearing and other ancillary works constituted a critical phase of the project intended to support feasibility and initial and detailed engineering design studies.
By September, the military said it had completed the assignment.
The Information Services Department reported that the Engineers Regiment cleared 175.6 kilometres from Ablekuma in the Greater Accra Region to Sewua in the Ashanti Region in 19 weeks, one week ahead of the 20-week deadline.
The cleared right-of-way was subsequently handed over to the government, paving the way for the next phase of the 198.7-kilometre expressway project. This confirms that Ghana Armed Forces personnel genuinely carried out clearing work connected to the project.
The viral photograph
DUBAWA subjected the viral image to Hive AI Detector, an artificial-intelligence image detection tool.
The tool returned a 99.9% probability that the image was AI-generated and a 0% probability that it was a deepfake. Hive’s analysis also identified signals associated with several AI image-generation systems.
Screenshot of result on Hive AI
DUBAWA did not treat the result as the sole basis for the fact-check. We also examined the image for visual inconsistencies and compared it with a video published by the Ghana Armed Forces showing the expressway-clearing exercise.
The viral image contains several anomalies.
The personnel’s uniforms do not match official photographs of GAF engineers working on the project. In particular, the military insignia and apparent Ghana flag patches in the viral image appear distorted, with one apparent patch showing irregular stitching and shape.
The image also shows no clearly identifiable official registration or fleet numbers on the heavy vehicles. While the absence of such markings does not by itself establish that a photograph is fabricated, it makes it difficult to connect the equipment to the expressway project.
By comparison, photographs released by the Ghana Armed Forces on Sept. 1, 2026 show military engineers carrying out actual clearing work in forest areas along the proposed route. The GAF said the engineers were working along the 175.6-kilometre corridor as part of the project’s preparatory phase.
The GAF also documented the completion of the right-of-way clearing and its subsequent handover to government.
DUBAWA found no evidence that the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the Presidency, or a credible media organisation published the viral photograph as an authentic photograph from the project.
The available evidence therefore indicates that while reports confirm GAF engineers cleared land for the expressway, the particular photograph circulating on Facebook is not an authentic photograph of that work.
The expressway is not already open to traffic
Cedi Showbiz 247’s claim that traffic was already using the new expressway is also not supported by the project’s documented timeline.
The September milestone was the completion and handover of the cleared right-of-way, not the completion or opening of the expressway.
The government described the planned road as a six-lane controlled-access highway linking Ablekuma in Accra to Sewua in the Ashanti Region.
The Ghana Armed Forces’ update said the government intended to begin the main construction work before the end of 2026. Therefore, a cleared route should not be confused with the expressway’s completion or opening.
These updates confirm substantial preparatory work by the military but do not support the claim that the road shown in the viral image is already an operational section of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
Conclusion
The Accra-Kumasi Expressway is a real project, and the Ghana Armed Forces has completed clearing 175.6 kilometres of its right-of-way. However, the viral image purportedly showing that work is AI-generated.
