Nine months into President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, a prominent governance expert has issued a sharp critique of the government’s pace in prosecuting high-profile corruption cases, warning that the administration is a “victim of its own political promises”.
Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, a respected fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), stated emphatically on Saturday, October 11, 2025, that the public’s impatience and growing criticism are “justifiable” due to the wide chasm between campaign rhetoric and concrete judicial action.
The central point of Dr. Osae-Kwapong’s criticism revolves around the severe disparity between the total number of corruption complaints submitted to the state and the actual number of cases proceeding to trial.
The government’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative, launched with a mandate to investigate and recover allegedly misappropriated public funds, has received an astronomical number of complaints.
According to ORAL Committee data from its inception, the committee reviewed findings related to 36 major financial cases estimated to be valued at approximately $20.49 billion, with land cases alone accounting for an estimated $702.8 million in losses.
The committee also received 2,417 total complaints, including 44 direct petitions, 924 emails, and 1,493 phone calls.
Despite this colossal caseload and the magnitude of financial loss to the state—which campaign messages suggested could be recovered—Dr. Osae-Kwapong highlighted a significant bottleneck in the judicial process:
He explained that although the Attorney-General had received 2,400 cases from ORAL, only a handful of prosecutions have started.
“It’s not as though absolutely nothing has been done. Are we not aware of the National Signals Bureau? Have processes not begun?” he asked, adding, “Now you will say two, three and how many… you are talking 2,400.”
The expert’s figure of just two public prosecutions nine months into the administration casts a critical spotlight on the government’s anti-corruption scorecard, particularly given the unprecedented scale of the ORAL findings.
The Burden of Unrealistic Political Promises
Dr. Osae-Kwapong argued that the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) is facing justified public anger because its campaign created “legitimate expectations” that overlooked the practical, time-consuming nature of due process.
“The heat that they are facing is justifiable,” he stressed. “You promised certain results. What the public is waiting for is to see those results.”
He cited a specific high-profile case involving the former National Investigations Bureau boss, Nana Agyei Ampofo, who was accused by ORAL of acquiring state land valued at an alleged $700,000 for a payment of only GH¢160,000.
The disparity between the valuation and the alleged payment was used to galvanize anti-corruption sentiment.
“What do you want the person sitting out there to think?” Dr. Osae-Kwapong questioned. “Should they agree with you when you say, ‘Oh, they should put a caveat that we don’t want to convict innocent people,’ when you had already told them this man has stolen land?”
He lamented that politicians failed to caution voters that “due process often clashes with public impatience,” noting that corruption prosecutions, particularly those involving complex financial data and large sums like the promised $21 billion recovery figure, often “take years because the wheels of justice grind slowly.”
“The certainty with which you promise those results is what the public is waiting to see,” he added. “Nobody sees due process. You can’t touch it, you can’t feel it. But everybody can see a convicted person in handcuffs or being sent to jail.”
The expert also touched upon the recent clarification by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, regarding the limits of his constitutional mandate. While legally correct, the timing of the statement was politically detrimental, according to Dr. Osae-Kwapong.
“I found it very instructive when the Attorney-General said, ‘As Attorney-General I can only prosecute, I can’t convict.’ I agree with him professionally,” Dr. Osae-Kwapong said. “But in the eyes of the public, what they are waiting for is results. Whether you are the one who will convict or not, they want to see action.”
In conclusion, Dr. Osae-Kwapong warned the government that the anti-corruption effort must be allowed to proceed without political interference.
“Let it fail because of weak institutions and weak processes, not because the very people who promised change turned around to undermine it,” he cautioned.
The ongoing discourse highlights the severe challenge faced by the government: balancing the demand for swift justice against the constitutional requirement for meticulous legal procedure, all while under the intense scrutiny generated by its own ambitious campaign promises.
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