Ghana Foreign Affairs Ministry Suspends Two Officers Over Alleged Service Passport Racket

Two officers at Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been suspended from duty and referred to the Ghana Police Service for criminal investigation following allegations that they ran an illicit operation to issue Service Passports to people who had no entitlement to them. The Ministry made the announcement on 8th November 2026, in a statement that named the individuals and outlined the scope of the alleged misconduct.

Who Was Interdicted and What Are They Accused Of?

The two officers at the centre of the scandal are Mahama Yahaya Amantana, who served as Acting Director of Passports, and Alhassan Sumani, a Foreign Service Officer. Both have been interdicted — meaning they are suspended from their duties pending the outcome of investigations — and their cases have been forwarded to the Ghana Police Service.

Preliminary investigations by the Ministry have already uncovered at least 10 cases of allegedly irregular Service Passport issuance, with records of the misconduct dating as far back as 2023. Petitioners who brought complaints forward claimed they paid sums of $29,000 and $5,000 respectively to individuals allegedly linked to a broader syndicate facilitating the illegal passport approvals. The scale of the payments suggests this was not an isolated act of opportunism but a potentially organised criminal enterprise operating within the walls of a government ministry.

Service Passports in Ghana are distinct from ordinary travel documents. They are reserved for specific categories of public officials and government representatives, and their possession can confer certain privileges when travelling abroad. Issuing them to unqualified applicants therefore undermines the integrity of Ghana's official documentation system and could have diplomatic consequences.

How Did the Investigation Begin?

According to the Ministry's statement, the matter came to light following a petition received on 8th October 2026. Acting swiftly on the instructions of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Ministry constituted an internal investigation committee just five days later, on 13th October 2026. The relatively quick establishment of that committee, and the subsequent referral to police within weeks, suggests the Ministry moved with unusual urgency — perhaps reflecting political will at the top to be seen confronting corruption head-on.

Minister Ablakwa, who has been a prominent and outspoken figure in Ghanaian public life, has previously signalled an intent to reform the operations of his ministry. The interdictions represent one of the more concrete disciplinary actions to emerge from that posture.

Why This Matters for Ghana

The alleged scheme touches on a deeply sensitive area: the integrity of Ghana's travel documents and the trustworthiness of its public institutions. Service Passports are not supposed to be for sale, and the suggestion that applicants paid tens of thousands of dollars to obtain them corruptly raises serious questions about oversight within the Ministry.

For ordinary Ghanaians who go through legitimate — and often frustratingly slow — passport processes, news of insiders allegedly fast-tracking fraudulent documents for paying clients is likely to provoke anger. Beyond the domestic reaction, Ghana's standing with international partners, including embassies that use a person's passport type to assess their status, could be affected if Service Passports are perceived as purchasable commodities.

The referral to the Ghana Police Service is a necessary step, but observers will be watching to see whether the investigation extends beyond the two named officers to examine how widespread the alleged syndicate may be. The Ministry has indicated there are at least ten known irregular cases — the question now is whether that number grows as police dig deeper.

• Both officers face interdiction and police investigation pending the outcome of the probe.
• Whistleblowers will likely be crucial to determining the full extent of the network.
• The case adds pressure on the Ministry to implement stronger internal controls around passport issuance.