The High Court in Tamale has convicted six individuals for participating in a payroll corruption scheme within the Ghana Education Service, which led to improper salary payments to a former teacher.
The convictions were achieved through a plea bargaining agreement facilitated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), resulting in the complete restitution and reparation of the misappropriated funds.
The individuals convicted—comprising school heads, payroll officers, and accountants—colluded to unlawfully validate and reinstate salary payments for Tahidu Yakubu, a former teacher who left his position in 2022 to accept a new role at MASLOC in the North-East Region.
Despite his resignation, Yakubu continued to receive salaries due to the intentional actions of his co-conspirators. From August 2022 to January 2023, he received a total of GH₵16,416.89 in net salary, even though he had stopped working at Balogu Junior High School in Yendi.
Investigations conducted by the OSP uncovered a persistent scheme to manipulate salary validation systems. The fourth accused, former headmaster Mohammed Yusif Jay, unlawfully validated Yakubu’s employment status, while the third accused, Schools Improvement Support Officer Sammy Suuk, confirmed those validations.
In January 2024, initiatives were undertaken to retroactively restore Yakubu’s salary for an eight-month duration, leading to an additional payment of GH₵47,064.34 to him. The investigation report from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) stated that the actions of the accused resulted in the State disbursing an unearned gross salary of GH₵86,318.95 to the first accused.
On 30 April 2025, the High Court in Tamale approved the plea bargain and mandated restitution and reparation amounting to GH₵106,319.64, which has been fully recovered. Under the plea bargain stipulated in Section 71 of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), the accused also consented to provide information to aid in further prosecutions.
The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, confirmed that these disclosures were made confidentially to both his office and the Court. These convictions are part of a broader initiative aimed at reforming Ghana’s public payroll system, which was launched in collaboration with the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department in November 2023.
The Government Payroll Administration investigation is currently in its first phase, focusing on the Ghana Education Service and Ghana Health Service, with subsequent phases planned to scrutinize payrolls across various Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies.
The OSP has reported that six additional criminal trials are in progress in Accra, Tamale, and Kumasi, with further prosecutions anticipated as the investigation continues. The Special Prosecutor remarked that these proceedings demonstrate a renewed commitment to holding corrupt public officials accountable and recovering every cedi lost to payroll fraud.
