Ex-NSA deputy Gifty Oware-Mensah seeks to halt proceedings in GH¢38m ghost names trial

Former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, has filed a motion seeking to stay proceedings in her trial over allegations she caused financial loss of more than GH¢38 million to the state.

When the case was called on Wednesday, February 18, counsel for the accused, Gary Nimako Marfo, informed the trial court of the motion, which prays the court to halt proceedings pending the hearing of another application before the Court of Appeal.

The appeal challenges a directive by the trial High Court ordering the accused to file a list of her defence witnesses and their addresses.

Oware-Mensah’s lawyers argue that the order requiring her to file the list of defence witnesses and their addresses is inconsistent with Article 19(2)(c) of the 1992 Constitution, which presumes any person charged with a criminal offence to be innocent until proven guilty.

The case has been adjourned to March 9, 2026, to allow the prosecution to file its affidavit in opposition to the motion filed by the accused.

Background

In October last year, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, charged Oware-Mensah for allegedly generating 9,934 ghost names on the NSA Central Management System.

The prosecution alleges that she subsequently took control of Blocks of Life Consult Limited by making her mother’s driver one of the company’s directors and presented the company to ADB. She reportedly explained to the bank that she had supplied goods on hire-purchase to the 9,934 ghost names and intended to use their allowances as collateral to secure a facility.

According to the prosecution, the scheme allegedly enabled her to fraudulently obtain GH¢38,458,248.87 from the bank through source deductions from the allowances of the 9,934 non-existent names over an 11-month period.

She has been charged with five counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, and money laundering.

Oware-Mensah has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been admitted to bail by the High Court presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay.