Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has interdicted its Acting Director of Passports and a junior Foreign Service Officer over an alleged scheme to sell Service Passports to people who did not qualify for them, Graphic Online reports. The two were named in a ministry statement issued in Accra on 8 November 2026 and have been handed to the Ghana Police Service for investigation and possible prosecution.
The suspended officials are Mahama Yahaya Amantana, the Acting Director of Passports, and Alhassan Sumani, a Foreign Service Officer. According to the statement, Sumani was identified in petitions as the alleged main organiser of the operation. The ministry said he worked as a "goro boy" — local slang for an errand runner — in 2023 and was taken into the Foreign Service on 29 November 2024.
Ten passports issued irregularly between January 2023 and August 2026 have been cancelled, the ministry said. It added that the documents can no longer be used, that international partners have been informed, and that the holders are being pursued. Two of them are said to have travelled successfully on the passports in 2023.
Why it matters
Service Passports are official documents, and the allegation that they were handed out for cash touches the credibility of a ministry that has recently been presented as a model of reform. The case also tests whether the government's anti-corruption messaging holds up when the people accused sit inside the institution itself.
The ministry framed the interdictions as evidence of tougher internal checks rather than a failure of oversight. It described the alleged "Service Passport For Sale Scheme" as a complex operation that began before the current administration took office, and said those behind it were caught because of increased vigilance and a stated zero-tolerance stance on corruption.
What the petitions claim
The ministry acted after receiving two petitions about irregularly issued Service Passports. According to the statement, the petitioner in 2023 said he had paid US$29,000 to those involved, while the petitioner in 2026 said he paid US$5,000. Asaase Radio reported that the ministry is investigating an alleged $29,000 deal, while Modern Ghana reported the figure as $50,000.
Preliminary findings, the ministry said, indicate that people who were not eligible for Service Passports received them from 2023 onwards after making illegal payments to a group. The statement listed ten individuals said to have obtained the documents this way between January 2023 and August 2026.
The ministry also said it would examine the conduct of Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, who was Director of Passports during the 2023 period under scrutiny and has since retired. He will be investigated by the security services and sanctioned if found responsible, the statement said, a step the ministry described as necessary for fairness and equal treatment.
Diplomatic passports not implicated
The ministry was careful to separate the two document categories. It said no evidence has so far shown that Ghana's Diplomatic Passports are being sold, and stressed that the matters under investigation concern Service Passports only.
The statement also pointed to changes made under Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, including chip-embedded passports that meet International Civil Aviation Organization standards, Passport Application Centres in all 16 regions, round-the-clock operations, and a cut in the application fee from GH¢500 to GH¢350. It cited a recent Ghana Statistical Service survey that ranked Passport Administration as the country's most transformed and least corrupt public institution.
Pressure for a wider inquiry
The case has drawn political attention. GhanaWeb reported that Jinapor is pressing for a full-scale investigation following the director's interdiction. Ghana Business News reported that the Majority Leader has assured Parliament of a thorough probe into the sale allegations.
The ministry said it remains committed to transparency, impartiality and accountability, and pledged that those found responsible would face justice.
What to watch is the police investigation: whether charges follow, whether more names emerge beyond the ten cancelled passports, and how the promised inquiry into the retired 2023 director unfolds.
