Supreme Court dismisses Gifty Oware-Mensah’s pleading to halt her trial at the High Court

The Supreme Court has dismissed an application by former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, seeking to halt her trial at the High Court pending a constitutional challenge over the disclosure of defence witnesses.

The former NSA Deputy Executive Director is on trial for her alleged role in the ghost names on payroll scandal. She has been charged with offences including stealing, willfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, and money laundering. She has pleaded not guilty.

Mrs Oware-Mensah had asked the apex court to stay proceedings at the High Court until it determines whether it is constitutional for an accused person to be compelled to file a list of witnesses before the commencement of trial.

However, the five-member panel of the Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, unanimously held that the High Court proceedings could continue regardless of the constitutional challenge.

“We are of the view that, having reviewed the processes so far, the application for stay does not meet the threshold for stay of proceedings. 

“The applicant may choose to pursue the interpretation of the practice direction but the trial at the High court may still go on,” Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said of Mrs Oware-Mensah’s legal challenge against her trial at the High Court.  

Lawyers for Mrs Oware-Mensah are challenging the constitutionality of Part 2(3a) of the Practice Direction governing criminal trials in Ghana which requires accused persons to file their witness statement during case management. 

The Practice Direction, issued in 2018 and signed by former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, governs criminal proceedings in courts with criminal jurisdiction across Ghana.

However Mrs Oware-Mensah’s lawyer’s argued that the High Court’s reliance on the Practice Direction violates Articles 19(2)(c) and 19(10) of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantee fair trial rights and protections for accused persons.

Making a case for his client earlier, Gary Nimako Marfo, lawyer for Mrs Oware-Mensah, contended that the High Court’s indication that it would “advise itself” should the accused fail to file her witness list implied adverse consequences should her client fail to comply with the order.

But Justice Senyo Dzamefe, however, cuts in at this point and questioned that argument, pointing out that an accused person retains the right to decide whether or not to testify or call witnesses in their defence.

Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang also joined the argument and pointed out the accused could elect not to call witnesses initially and later choose to do so as the trial progresses.

“If you decide not to call any witnesses at this point, it is allowed and if you decide to call witnesses later as the trial proceeds, you can do that. If you don’t have witnesses, you just have to tell the court,” Justice Pwamang stated.

The Court therefore ruled that the High Court’s directive requiring Ms Oware-Mensah to file her witness list does not compel her to do so immediately and does not prevent her from choosing to file the list at any stage of the trial if she deems it necessary.

“We do not think this application is enough to stop the case from moving to trial,” the Chief Justice stated.

Background

Mr Marfo has consistently argued that requiring his client to disclose the names and addresses of defence witnesses before the prosecution opens its case violates her constitutional rights.

He therefore prayed the Supreme Court to stay proceedings at the High Court until the constitutional question is determined.

Since the commencement of the trial, Ms Oware-Mensah’s legal team has opposed the High Court’s directive requiring the accused to file the names and addresses of her witnesses in line with Part 2(3a) of the Practice Direction.

The Practice Direction, issued in 2018 and signed by former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, governs criminal proceedings in courts with criminal jurisdiction across Ghana.

On May 11, 2026, Mr Marfo told the High Court that he intended to challenge the directive before the Supreme Court, arguing that the apex court’s eventual ruling would have material implications for his client’s trial.

He subsequently prayed the High Court to adjourn proceedings until the Supreme Court delivered its decision.

Since January 20, 2026, the disagreement over the filing of defence witnesses has dominated proceedings and delayed the substantive hearing of the criminal case.

The High Court had earlier dismissed a similar application on March 24, 2026, in which the defence sought to suspend proceedings pending an appeal on the same issue.

The criminal case against the former NSA executive follows a series of investigations published by The Fourth Estate in 2025.

The investigations uncovered how thousands of ghost names, including fictitious or ineligible individuals such as toddlers, elderly persons, and persons with no verifiable links to tertiary institutions, were allegedly inserted into the NSA payroll system.

According to the investigations, the ghost names were created through manipulated posting schemes that enabled the payment of millions of cedis in allowances to non-existent national service personnel.

The investigations also exposed serious failures in data integrity controls, value-for-money safeguards, and the credibility of the Centralised Service Management Platform (CSMP). Rather than preventing fraud, the digital platform was allegedly manipulated to bypass validation checks, generate fake student index numbers, and facilitate payments to fictitious beneficiaries.

The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice subsequently launched an independent investigation, relying heavily on evidence and leads from The Fourth Estate’s reporting.

The Attorney-General’s probe reportedly confirmed widespread financial irregularities involving senior NSA officials and private-sector collaborators.

In October 2025, Attorney-General Dominic Ayine announced that the fraudulent schemes had resulted in the mismanagement and loss of more than GHS2.2 billion.

Criminal proceedings have since been initiated against key figures, including former NSA Executive Director Osei Assibey Antwi and Ms Oware-Mensah, who face multiple charges, including stealing, causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering.