The Accra High Court has granted a GH¢10 million bail to former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, who is facing charges of financial misconduct linked to the National Service “ghost names” scandal.
Mrs Oware-Mensah appeared before the court on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, where she was formally charged with five counts, including wilfully causing financial loss to the state, stealing, money laundering, and using public office for profit. She pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecutors allege that during her time in office, Mrs Oware-Mensah created about 9,934 fake service personnel and benefited from the monthly allowances issued under those names. The alleged scheme is said to have cost the state over GH¢38 million.
The case comes amid wider investigations into payroll fraud at the NSA after a verification exercise found that while the payroll listed over 180,000 service personnel, only about 98,000 were genuine. The rest were “ghost names”, leading to suspicions of large-scale embezzlement.
The Attorney-General recently disclosed that a forensic audit by the Auditor-General has revealed the total amount involved in the scandal could reach GH¢2.2 billion, far higher than the GH¢548 million initially reported. The A-G said his office will amend the charges to reflect these new findings.
During the bail hearing, her lawyer, Nanabayin Ackon, argued that Mrs Oware-Mensah was a responsible public servant with a fixed address and no risk of absconding or interfering with investigations.
The court granted her bail with three sureties, two of whom must be justified. She is also required to surrender all passports to the court and report to the police twice monthly on the first Tuesday and Thursday of every month until the trial concludes.
