Ghana's passport administration has come under intense scrutiny following allegations that officials within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Passport Office facilitated the issuance of Diplomatic and Service Passports to individuals who were not qualified to obtain them in exchange for money.

The scandal, which has triggered petitions, an internal investigation, the interdiction of two officials, the cancellation of 10 Service Passports and political accusations between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), is also being investigated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The controversy has raised concerns about the integrity of Ghana's passport administration system, the possible involvement of public officials and the use of privileged travel documents by individuals who are not entitled to them.

Here is a breakdown of the key developments, the people named, the allegations and the actions taken so far:

The petitioners who triggered the scandal

The investigation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed two petitions alleging that individuals within the passport administration system demanded and received money to facilitate the issuance of Service Passports to people who did not qualify for them.

According to the Ministry, the first petition was received on October 8, 2026, and concerned an alleged payment of US$29,000 in 2023. A second petitioner claimed to have paid US$5,000 in 2026 to individuals involved in the alleged arrangement.

One of the petitions was linked to Pastor Prince Ahensah and his wife, Maybel Ahensah, who had reportedly paid money in expectation of receiving Service Passports and assistance with obtaining a United States visa.

The Ministry indicated that two Service Passports, bearing numbers SX060467 and SX0604687, were issued on May 28, 2026, in connection with the matter.

The petitioners reportedly became concerned after the passports were not delivered to them as expected, prompting them to petition the Ministry for redress.

The two complaints eventually triggered an investigation into an alleged passport-for-sale operation believed to have been active since 2023.

The committee set up by the Ministry

Following receipt of the first petition on October 8, 2026, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa directed the establishment of an investigative committee on October 13, 2026.

The committee was tasked with examining the allegations surrounding the issuance of Service Passports to individuals who were not eligible to obtain them.

The committee was chaired by Ambassador Alexander Grant. Other members named in the committee were Francis Danti Kotia, Caroline Oppong Ntiri, Jeswuni Abudu, Audrey Abayage and Nana Yaa Wadee.

The committee's work formed part of the Ministry's preliminary investigation into the alleged activities of individuals operating within the passport administration system.

The findings subsequently led to the identification of 10 Service Passports which the Ministry said had been issued irregularly between January 2023 and August 2026.

The interdiction of the Director of Passports

On November 8, 2026, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the interdiction of two officials over their alleged involvement in the passport scheme.

They were the Acting Director of Passports, Mahama Yahaya Amantana, and a junior Foreign Service Officer, Alhassan Sumani.

According to the Ministry, Sumani was named in the petitions as the alleged chief architect of the operation. He was also accused of operating as a middleman, commonly referred to as a 'goro boy', in 2023 before joining the Foreign Service on November 29, 2024.

The Ministry said both officials had been interdicted and referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and possible prosecution.

It also indicated that retired Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, a former Director of Passports who served during the period when some of the alleged irregularities occurred, would be investigated by the security services and sanctioned if found culpable.

The Ministry stressed that the alleged scheme predated the current administration and assured the public that all persons found culpable would face the appropriate consequences.

The two people accused of being part of the passport-selling cabal

The allegations have also drawn attention to individuals outside the Ministry who are suspected of acting as intermediaries in the alleged passport-selling operation.

However, the Ministry's November 8 announcement specifically confirmed the interdiction and referral of two public officers to the police. It did not describe the two officials as having been arrested.

The Minority in Parliament subsequently named Ibrahim Wallee and Bright Yeboah Owusu as individuals allegedly connected to the wider operation.

According to the Minority, Wallee managed a travel and tour business in Ghana, while Owusu allegedly acted as his agent in Europe.

The Minority claimed that the two individuals worked with persons within the Ministry and the Passport Office to facilitate the acquisition of Diplomatic and Service Passports by people who did not qualify for them.

NPP's allegations

The passport controversy became a major political issue after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) raised concerns about the alleged issuance of Diplomatic and Service Passports to people who did not qualify for them.

On November 4, 2026, the party's Second Vice Chairman, Henry Nana Boakye, alleged that close to 300 people had obtained Diplomatic and Service Passports despite not meeting the requirements.

He called on the government to publish details of all Diplomatic and Service Passports issued since January 2025, including the identities or official positions of their holders, the basis on which they qualified and the authorities responsible for approving the documents.

The NPP also linked the alleged abuse of passport privileges to concerns about international drug trafficking, arguing that criminal networks could exploit the privileges associated with such travel documents.

The party's concerns followed a demonstration in Accra on November 3, 2026, dubbed the 'Yɛgye Yɛn Sika' protest, during which its youth wing demanded accountability over alleged irregularities in passport issuance and the management of public funds.

On November 8, the Minority Caucus in Parliament, led on the issue by the Ranking Member of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, made further allegations.

Jinapor claimed that approximately 300 Ghanaians had travelled to Europe and other destinations using Diplomatic and Service Passports allegedly obtained through an arrangement involving officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Passport Office.

He identified Ibrahim Wallee as the alleged manager of a travel and tour business in Ghana and Bright Yeboah Owusu as his alleged agent in Europe.

According to the Minority, customers paid money to obtain the passports, while some applicants were assigned government positions and official designations they did not hold. It further alleged that some of the positions attributed to applicants did not exist.

The Minority also claimed that the passports were marketed as a means of travelling to certain countries without visas and that some officials assisted travellers at the airport to avoid scrutiny by Immigration officers.

Jinapor presented copies of passport biodata pages, purported approval letters and payment records, including GCB Bank receipts and mobile money transactions, which he said supported the allegations.

The Minority subsequently called for a parliamentary inquiry into the matter, arguing that the Ministry's internal investigation should not prevent Parliament from conducting an independent examination.

Cancellation of 10 Service Passports

On November 8, 2026, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the cancellation of 10 Service Passports identified in its preliminary investigations as having been irregularly issued to individuals who did not qualify for them.

The passports were reportedly issued between January 2023 and August 2026, with four issued in 2023 and six in 2026.

The individuals whose passports were cancelled were:

1. Richard Sakyi Apenteng

2. Augustina Agyei Boateng

3. Juliet Amankwa

4. Rebecca Agyeiwaa

5. Prince Ahensah

6. Maybel Ahensah

7. Twumasi Francis Kwame

8. Gyabaah Anthony

9. Frederick Ennin

10. Bosompem Richard

The Ministry said the cancellation meant the documents could no longer be used. It added that Ghana's international partners had been notified of the decision.

It also disclosed that efforts were underway to pursue the beneficiaries, including two individuals who allegedly used the passports to travel in 2023.

The Ministry maintained that its preliminary investigation had so far identified irregularities involving Service Passports and clarified that there was no evidence at that stage to establish that Ghanaian Diplomatic Passports were being sold.

Claims by the NDC that the letter authorising the issuance of some Service Passports was forged\

The NDC government has pushed back against allegations that the Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and officials under his administration were responsible for the irregular issuance of the passports.

On November 9, 2026, the Ministry's Media Relations Officer, Fred Duhoe, said the alleged syndicate had forged the signature of the Ministry's former Chief Director to facilitate the issuance of some Service Passports.

According to Duhoe, a junior Foreign Service Officer and an accomplice operating outside the Ministry bypassed established procedures and sent forged authorisation documents directly to the Acting Director of Passports.

He explained that the documents used to secure the passports did not originate from the Ministry.

Presidential aide Dr Samuel Ayeh also alleged that a suspect identified as Wale had confessed before the committee investigating the scandal to forging the signature of the former Chief Director.

Speaking on JoyNews' The Pulse on November 9, Dr Ayeh said the suspect admitted to practising the forgery several times to ensure that the signature appeared authentic.

He further claimed that the suspect explained how official letterheads were obtained and used in the alleged operation, with Alhassan Sumani playing a role in securing the letterheads.

Dr Ayeh said the committee had an audio recording of the alleged confession and that its report was expected to be made public the following week.

The claims were part of the government's response to allegations by the Minority that approval letters for some Service Passports had been signed on behalf of the Foreign Affairs Minister by the Ministry's Chief Director.

The Majority in Parliament also maintained that the alleged scheme started in 2023 under the previous NPP administration, before the current government assumed office.

Foreign Affairs Committee Vice Chairman Cletus Seidu Dapilah argued that the current administration inherited an existing network and that Alhassan Sumani had operated as an intermediary before joining the Foreign Service in November 2024.

However, the Minority has rejected the Ministry's internal investigation as sufficient, insisting on an independent parliamentary inquiry into the matter.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor opens investigations

On November 9, 2026, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) announced that it had commenced investigations into allegations of corruption and irregularities in the issuance of Ghanaian Diplomatic and Service Passports.

The OSP said its investigation would examine the alleged scheme through which individuals who did not qualify for the travel documents supposedly obtained them in exchange for payments to persons within the passport administration system.

It said the investigation would seek to establish the roles of individuals involved, trace the alleged payments, examine the approval and issuance processes and determine whether corruption-related offences had been committed.

The Office also confirmed the Ministry's preliminary findings involving the 10 allegedly irregularly issued Service Passports and the interdiction of the two officials.

The OSP indicated that the investigation was ongoing and that further information would be disclosed where appropriate without compromising its work.

What happens next?

The passport scandal has now attracted investigations by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ghana Police Service and the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

While the Ministry has cancelled the 10 Service Passports identified in its preliminary findings, questions remain about the alleged involvement of other individuals, the extent of the operation and the claims that hundreds of Ghanaians may have travelled using improperly acquired travel documents.

The Minority is also pushing for a parliamentary inquiry, while the Majority wants the Ministry's investigative committee and other accountability institutions to be allowed to complete their work.

The outcome of the investigations is expected to establish the full extent of the alleged scheme and determine whether public officials or private individuals will face prosecution.

BAI

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