President John Dramani Mahama has called on Ghanaians to exercise patience with the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) system, stressing that due process must be followed in prosecuting corruption cases.

Speaking during a meeting with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at the Jubilee House on Monday, March 30, 2026, Mahama explained that while the public often demands swift prosecutions, due process must be observed to ensure justice.

According to him, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), in the lead-up to the 2024 election, promised Ghanaians that it would jail officials found to have misused public funds under the previous government.

He, however, explained that this cannot be done immediately, as due process must be followed before people can be arrested.

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He said as a result, the Minister of Justice is under pressure to build strong cases that can stand in court.

“The public can say, 'We want to hurry and build the dockets,' then you go and the judge throws it out. And so, the Minister of Justice is under pressure.

“But he must build the cases thoroughly, so that when he goes to court, he can get a conviction. And so, we all must have patience for the process. We, the NDC, ourselves, said that as soon as we come, we'll arrest everybody and put them in prison. We need them to go through the process, but you have to investigate every single case,” he said.

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Citing the All Africa Games to reinforce his point, President Mahama explained that investigations had taken time, and only recently has a report been received from the Auditor-General.

He said the next step is to carefully review the findings and prepare charges against those found culpable.

He stated, “For instance, after we came, the All Africa Games the Auditor-General started an investigation into our Africa Games… an audit into the All Africa Games. We have only recently got the audit report. And so, now you can take the audit reports and prepare charges for wrongful use of money, or if you think there are criminal cases you extract from there, you have to investigate, interrogate the people, build a docket, before you go to a judge.

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...And when you go to the judge, the person must have their day in court. They must have legal representation. And, you know, so many of you are lawyers.”

Mahama added that accountability must apply not only to past crimes but also to current breaches of the law.

He welcomed the opening of new courts to handle Auditor-General’s reports, saying they will help ensure that those found culpable are prosecuted.

VKB/VPO