Is Ghana losing it? Political lawfare weaponization and systemic erosion of the rule of law.

In every vibrant democracy, the rule of law is a cornerstone, ensuring that justice is dispensed impartially, free from political manipulation or the temptations of public relations theatrics.

Yet in Ghana’s current political climate, since the December, 2024 elections, troubling patterns have emerged. Justice is increasingly appearing to be selectively applied and weaponized as a partisan tool rather than pursued for the public good.

Barely had the political transition concluded when leading voices in the NDC, took to television studios, radio platforms, and social media timelines, naming names and pointing fingers at people who had to “answer” for alleged wrongdoings.

These figures included Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Minister for Foreign Affairs and chair for the current government’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) Initiative, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, an NDC stalwart and current Minister of State for Government Communications and Malik Basintale, a youthful political figure who rose to prominence during the 2024 General Elections for his ability to mobilize the youth in support of the NDC, currently serves as a Deputy National Communications Officer of the party and doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency.”

With reckless abandon, they splashed allegations across the public sphere, declaring individuals guilty in the court of public opinion.

Party communicators gleefully waved about the so-called ORAL list as though Ghana had suddenly ceased to be a constitutional democracy bound by Article 19(2)(c), which guarantees that every citizen is “innocent until proven guilty.”

In this atmosphere, due process was not a principle; it was an inconvenience

Since taking office, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has rolled out a wave of high-profile prosecutions, almost exclusively aimed at figures aligned with the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

Yet, several cases involving NDC-affiliated individuals, some of which had reached advanced stages in court, have been abruptly discontinued with less fanfare. This uneven application of the law raises urgent and uncomfortable questions: Is justice truly being served, or is it being bent to the service of partisan strategy?

The early media blitz was not simply rhetoric; it was preparation

It primed the public psyche, softening resistance to the prosecutions that would follow. And when the cases did come, they were executed with deliberate spectacle, “Rambo-style” arrests, flanked by armed escorts, sometimes with masks and conveniently tipped-off cameras, ensuring that humiliation was maximized and that the narrative of guilt was cemented long before any verdict.

The cycle is predictable: public accusations, dramatic raids, saturated media coverage, and then a triumphant declaration that “Aban papa aba” (a good, strong and uncompromising government has arrived). But beneath this carefully orchestrated theatre, troubling realities emerge.

Justice has become performance. Prosecution has become propaganda. The law, meant to serve as a shield for all citizens, is instead being wielded as a sword against political opponents.

And so, the central question refuses to go away: is this the impartial justice of a maturing democracy, or simply political theatre, carefully staged for the NDC to consolidate power and silence dissent for as long as possible?

Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the Attorney-General (AG), and Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor (SP) often in collaboration with Raymond Archer, Acting Executive Director of Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), have taken to conducting their investigations in a strikingly public manner, sometimes long before gathering the evidence required for a credible conviction.

Admittedly, this level of engagement with the public is unprecedented. It contrasts sharply with previous administrations and is often couched as a gesture of transparency and accountability, which, on the surface, seems commendable.

Yet, a closer look at the rhetoric portrays another motive

Phrases such as “water-tight evidence” and “accomplices singing like a bird” are liberally thrown around, creating a perception of certainty where none yet exists.

The reality, however, is far less conclusive; sometimes no charges filed, no convictions secured, no legal finality has been achieved.

Among the notable cases:

• Kwabena Adu Boahene (Former Director General, National Signals Bureau) & Others – Accused of allegedly misappropriating GH₵49.1 million ($7M) earmarked for a cybersecurity system, facing charges including stealing, causing financial loss, money laundering, and fraud – Arrested upon arrival at the airport upon his arrival from a trip, sent into custody and slapped with an outrageous bail of $10M.
• National Service Scheme Ghost Names Scandal – Former executives, including Mustapha Ussif and Osei Assibey Antwi, alleged to have caused GH₵548 million in losses through 81,885 “ghost names” between 2018 and 2024.
• NPA UPPF Case – Former CEO Mustapha Abdul-Hamid and others accused of allegedly extorting and laundering GH₵280 million between 2022–2024.
• The Airport Company Ltd case against Paul Adom Otchere, Good Evening Ghana Host of Metro TV, whose bail was set at 2 personally, owned pieces of real estate even when he had earlier submitted he owned no such real estate.
• The CEO of GIIF who stayed in jail over 2 weeks because his bail was set at GHS15 million with 2 sureties, both required to be justified with landed properties.
• SML Revenue Assurance Contracts – Former GRA Commissioner-General Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah accused of alleged irregular contracts covering petroleum, gold, and ports sectors, raising legality and value-for-money concerns.
• Ken Ofori-Atta – Former Finance Minister, (longest serving in the fourth Republic) who was undergoing cancer treatment in the US, declared a fugitive under an Interpol Red Notice, facing corruption allegations in five major transactions, including the GRA SML contract, the BXC ECG termination, the National Cathedral Procurement, Procurement of ambulance spare parts by the Ministry of Health and the administration of GRA’s tax accounts.

These are just the most notable among a long list of cases initiated by the SP, AG, and EOCO. Yet, just as swiftly as they are announced with fanfare and paraded before the public, no convictions have been achieved.

Meanwhile, something else seems to be happening alongside, but at a very quiet pace.

In stark contrast, the AG has filed multiple nolle prosequi motions in 2025, discontinuing prosecutions involving high-profile NDC figures, often citing “public interest” or strategic resource considerations.

The reasons for discontinuing these cases don’t seem to make reasonable sense, even to the public, receiving some backlash from Ghanaians.

Notable examples of nolle prosequi include:

• Collins Dauda (former Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, under the previous NDC administration) & Others – Saglemi Housing Project: $200M housing project misapplication; charges dropped February 7, 2025.
• Ernest Thompson (former Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) under the previous NDC administration) – SSNIT OBS Project: Alleged $15M loss; most defendants acquitted, remaining charges withdrawn.
• Stephen Opuni, Former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board COCOBOD, under the previous NDC administration, & Seidu Agongo, Businessman- COCOBOD Fertilizer Scandal: GH₵217M procurement irregularity; charges dropped January 28, 2025.
• Cassiel Ato Forson (Current Minister of Finance) & Richard Jakpa (Director of Special Operations, National Security) – Ambulance Deal: €2.37M loss; AG withdrew appeal January 24, 2025.
• Kwabena Duffuor, former Governor of the Bank of Ghana and a former Finance Minister Under the Previous Mahama Government – UniBank Collapse: GH₵663M mismanagement allegations; charges dropped July 2025.

The contradictions have become clear

Selective Zeal in Prosecution

The very same Attorney-General has been conspicuously silent following the Court of Appeal’s decision to grant bail to William Ato Essien, founder and former CEO of Capital Bank.

Mr. Essien was convicted in October 2023 and sentenced to 15 years in prison for his central role in the misappropriation of GH¢90 million from Capital Bank during the financial sector clean-up.

Yet, in July 2025, he was handed an extraordinary reprieve: bail pending appeal, on health grounds, with conditions set at GH¢10 million – a rarity in Ghana’s legal history, save for the notable case of Tsatsu Tsikata, a legal practitioner and NDC Stalwart, in 2009 and a few others before him.

Now, let’s contrast this with how the same Attorney-General handled the case of Kwabena Adu-Boahene and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng. Both were arraigned on charges of allegedly misappropriating GH¢49.1 million, less than half the amount at stake in the Essien case.

Yet their bail conditions were set at a staggering GH¢200 million combined. Unable to meet those terms, Adu-Boahene stayed in custody for eight days until the High Court reviewed and reduced the bail to GH¢80 million. Was this initial figure simply a punitive tactic to humiliate and weaken him before the trial even began?

On the one hand, a convicted individual, already serving a custodial sentence, is granted extraordinary leniency. On the other hand, an accused person who is still presumed innocent under the Constitution faces prohibitive bail conditions designed more to break him than to ensure justice.

The silence of the Attorney-General on the Essien matter, juxtaposed with his aggressive pursuit of Adu-Boahene, even invoking the NSS scandal without filing charges, reveals a pattern of selective zeal.

And it exposes the uncomfortable truth: under the present administration, the law appears to be a weapon, wielded in only one direction.

Justice as Political Shield

Another case in point is the Saglemi Housing project, which further illustrates how the current government and the Attorney General apply justice not as a matter of principle but as a tool of convenience.

Bright Simons, the Vice President in Charge of Research and Strategic Initiatives at IMANI Africa, one of Ghana’s leading policy think tanks leaned into the discourse surrounding the Saglemi Scandal.

He pointed out that barely three months after the Attorney General’s office discontinued prosecutions against former NDC ministers and contractors involved in the scandal, arguing that the charges were “ill-conceived”, the very same government now finds itself in arbitration in Paris, advancing arguments it had previously dismissed as weak.

In court at home, the Attorney General claimed the prosecutions lacked merit and hence have dropped the charges against Collins Dauda, Dr. Kweku Agyeman-Mensah, his successor and Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu, former Chief Director of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing and the contractors; yet before an international tribunal, the state insists that contractual amendments were illegal, that Ghana was defrauded, and that the country is owed more than $114 million.

This raises an unavoidable question: if the government is confident enough to make these claims in Paris, why did it abandon them in Accra and not hold those involved in the contract accountable?

Was the discontinuance truly about the merits of the case, or was it about shielding political allies, particularly when those on trial are now senior figures of the ruling party?

The incoherence is striking. By discharging the accused in Ghana, the government undermined its credibility, only to later resuscitate the same arguments abroad when financial liability was at stake.

For any impartial observer, this reeks of double standards. At home, political loyalty dictated the posture of the Attorney General. Abroad, fiscal self-preservation forced the state to pivot back to the very reasoning it had ridiculed.

This is not merely a legal contradiction; it is a democratic crisis. When prosecutions are discontinued because the accused are politically connected, and then the same grounds are used to defend the state in arbitration, the rule of law is reduced to a partisan spectacle.

Weaponization of state security institutions

What should be intelligence-collection bodies, particularly the National Security apparatus and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), are now at the forefront of dramatic, Rambo-style raids—masked men with guns drawn, storming the homes and offices of persons linked to the previous NPP government.

These operations have become not only rampant but irritatingly predictable in their political selectivity.

To fully grasp the stakes, let’s first understand one prominent figure at its centre: Richard Jakpa. Far from a decorated officer, Jakpa’s career in the Ghana Armed Forces ended in disgrace.

In his dismissal letter—signed by the late Brigadier General M.K.G. Ahiaglo, then Commander of the Southern Command—Jakpa was expelled for “unsatisfactory conduct.” To quote:

“Throughout his service life, Lt R. Jakpa (GH/2899) has proved consistently that he belongs to a world incompatible with the decent and gentlemanly composure that the Presidential Commission confers on officers of the Ghana Armed Forces. He is a bad example by all standards, and his continued retention in the Service is likely to cause more harm to the Service and to himself.”

That judgment, delivered nearly two decades ago, should have permanently barred him from positions of national trust.

He subsequently was involved with the current Finance Minister, then Deputy Finance Minister, Ato Forson, in the infamous Ambulance Scandal that the AG has withdrawn from court.

Yet paradoxically, Jakpa now occupies one of the most sensitive posts in the country: Director of Special Operations at the Office of the National Security Coordinator.

And as if his dismissal letter were prophetic, allegations now swirl around Jakpa in his new role: that he extorts money from former appointees, promising not to target or embarrass them.

Yet his superiors at National Security seem unwilling or unable to rein him in, instead apologise for his misconduct. This begs the question, where does Jakpa draw his power from?

This contradiction is not just about one man’s improbable rise; it reflects a deeper system where political patronage and expediency override merit, integrity, and institutional safeguards.

Take the raid on the residence of the former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.

CCTV footage revealed Jakpa personally leading a team of twelve men, five in military fatigues, one in police uniform and others in plain clothes, into the minister’s home without a valid search warrant, while he was abroad for medical treatment.

Shortly after that, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, bizarrely declared Ofori-Atta a fugitive of law and dismissed the raid as a hoax staged by the former minister himself. When CCTV footage surfaced showing Jakpa combing through the property, that narrative collapsed.

An apology was issued in Parliament by the Majority Leader. However, there was no accountability demanded of Jakpa and his cohort. 

Jakpa had been implicated in the Ambulance case with Ato Forson, the current Minister for Finance. Many thought the raid therefore was part of a vendetta against Ofori-Atta.

The pattern didn’t end there. Jakpa was also implicated in a raid on the home of the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison.

That such sensitive operations were entrusted to a man dishonourably discharged from the army is no coincidence, it is evidence of the deliberate politicization of security institutions.

When individuals like Jakpa are not only rehabilitated but empowered, the rule of law becomes a façade. Security structures cease to serve the republic and instead become tools of intimidation, spectacle, and partisan interest.

Jakpa, therefore, is not just a rogue operative—he is the very personification of what happens when politics infiltrates the institutions tasked with defending democracy.

Where, in all this, is the Ghana Police Service? Why is an intelligence-gathering institution being deployed in operational law enforcement activities that are constitutionally within the mandate of the police?

The message is unmissable: when it comes to clamping down on NPP affiliated figures, no institution is beyond manipulation, and no measure is too excessive, so long as it serves the partisan interests of the ruling government.

The judiciary has not been spared either

Ghana has long prided itself on the independence of its three arms of government—Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary—earning respect across the African continent.

Yet, the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has rocked that image to its core. Since the return to constitutional rule in 1992, no Chief Justice has ever been suspended or forcibly removed from office; all have exited through retirement.

But in just four months of returning to power, President Mahama presided over a decision that saw the Chief Justice suspended based on three petitions shrouded in secrecy.

Justice Torkornoo herself has publicly questioned the legality of the process, arguing that she has not even been furnished with the specific allegations against her, let alone been given a fair opportunity to mount a defence.

This has triggered widespread unease—civil society groups, the minority in Parliament, legal practitioners, and concerned citizens have all decried the opacity and political overtones surrounding the suspension.

Even more jarring is what followed. Amid this judicial turmoil, President Mahama swore in seven new Supreme Court justices on July 3, 2025, marking the largest single expansion of the apex court in years,  thus increasing supreme court justices from 13 to 20, directly contradicting his campaign promises to reduce its size and place a ceiling on the numbers.

The justification offered was to enhance the Court’s capacity to handle its workload. But one cannot help asking: which workload?

Is this expansion intended to strengthen the Court’s ability to resolve critical legal issues or is it a carefully engineered bid to tilt the judiciary in favour of the ruling government, especially as Ghana embarks on a constitutional review process that could reshape the nation’s political order?

Meanwhile, Justice Torkornoo’s decision to challenge her suspension before the ECOWAS Court and other international judicial bodies underscores what is truly at stake: the very soul of Ghana’s democratic institutions.

If the executive branch can so brazenly suspend a sitting Chief Justice and stack the apex court with its preferred appointees, then the principle of separation of powers is not just under attack, but it is being dismantled in real time.

This is not governance but a dangerous flirtation with authoritarianism dressed up as resetting Ghana. In a rare case of courage and defiance, two former supreme court Chief Justices,  Sophia Akuffo and Anin Yeboah, and a Supreme Court Justice; Dotse, have testified against the charges levied.

This strategy would not be achieved without the obvious government-media partnership

A defining feature of the current administration’s communication strategy has been its deliberate use of traditional and digital media—TV, radio, and especially social media to propagate the mantra “Aban Papa Aba.”

This is not a harmless slogan; it is a carefully engineered campaign designed to consolidate mass support by exploiting a significant segment of the population who, do not necessarily have the critical media literacy to distinguish fact from mis/disinformation or from half-truths crafted to sway public opinion.

A telling example is the series of viral videos produced by Okudzeto Ablakwa in pursuit of the ORAL agenda. By framing allegations of “state capture” of public lands by NPP-affiliated figures as undeniable fact, he successfully ignited widespread outrage and mobilized public backing for the campaign.

Yet, despite the drama, he has not produced substantive evidence in court to prove guilt against those he publicly vilified. The spectacle, rather than outcomes, has been cemented in the public mind as proof that the NDC government is “showing workings” and “finally serving Ghanaians.”

But is it really? Where are the legal resolutions, and where is accountability?

This calculated media strategy works by sustaining social media pressure and framing partisan actions as moral crusades, thereby keeping citizens fixated on alleged opposition wrongdoing while conveniently diverting attention away from the administration’s own internal controversies.

Even more troubling is the quiet co-optation of voices that once stood as bulwarks against abuse of power.

Many of the most prominent critics of the previous NPP administration, drawn from the media, civil society, academia, and even the clergy, now find themselves appointed to positions within the current NDC government.

What was once presented as principled activism now appears, in hindsight, as selective advocacy that paved the way for political reward.

The media provides the most glaring example.

At least 16 prominent journalists and media personalities, many of whom built reputations by relentlessly scrutinizing the NPP government have now crossed into government roles under the NDC while others, still at post in the media houses, and even online platforms, push narratives in support of the NDC.

Notable examples include:

• Randy Abbey (Metro TV Host)  now CEO of Cocobod
• Emefa Apawu (Joy FM) – now at the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation
• Paa Kwesi Asare (TV3) – appointed to the Bank of Ghana
• Lantam Papanko (GH One) – Ghana Publishing Company
• Raymond Acquah (Joy FM) – Finance Ministry
• Abeiku Santana – Deputy Director, Ghana Tourism Authority
• Mugabe Maase (Power FM/XYZ) – Board Member, Tema Oil Refinery
• Annie Ampofo (Metro TV) – Head of Public Affairs, Ghana High Commission in the UK
• Bridget Otoo (Metro TV) – now a Presidential Staffer

These appointments blur the distinction between journalism and political patronage. Can the press still be trusted as an independent fourth estate when journalism itself becomes a springboard to partisan reward?

When journalists know that amplifying NDC narratives can lead to state appointments, the incentive to hold government accountable is severely weakened. Civil society organizations and the clergy have followed similar trajectories.

Many of the same CSOs that loudly championed accountability under the NPP were courted by the NDC in the run-up to the 2024 elections.

Their input was incorporated into the party’s manifesto, blurring the line between independent oversight and partisan collaboration.

Segments of the clergy, once forceful in condemning the NPP and even the NDC, flip-flopped during the campaign season as vocal advocates of the NDC’s message, compromising the impartial moral authority the church has traditionally wielded.

Taken together, these shifts reveal a disturbing pattern: voices that once demanded accountability from government have grown muted now that their political allies are in power.

The result is not just the erosion of independence, but the loss of one of democracy’s most critical safeguards. As we see the watchdogs, in effect, becoming the lapdogs.

At its core, the troubling trend on display is not isolated misconduct by a few actors but a broader reconfiguration of Ghana’s democratic institutions to serve partisan ends. The OSP’s persecution of political appointees, notably the former finance minister, the EOCO’s and Attorney-General’s selective prosecutions, the weaponization of security agencies, the suspension of a Chief Justice, and the mobilization of media as propaganda machinery all reveal a pattern: institutions designed to check power are being bent to entrench it.

This is not about NDC versus NPP. It is about the soul of Ghana’s democracy. If the law ceases to be impartial, if justice becomes vengeance, if security agencies operate as political enforcers, and if the media trades independence for patronage, then Ghana risks undoing the hard-won democratic gains of the Fourth Republic.

The choice before us is stark: either uphold the rule of law as the bedrock of governance or surrender it to political theatre dressed as justice.

Democracies do not collapse overnight; they erode quietly, precedent by precedent, until the protections once taken for granted are gone. Ghana now stands at a threshold of political lawfare weaponization and systemic erosion of the rule of law.

Read More