'Refund our money or go to Nsawam' – Mahama to corrupt officials as gov't moves to establish audit courts

Nii Ayitey Brown 12:22 - 01 June 2026

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Pres. Mahama at the diaspora town hall meeting

President John Mahama has warned that public officials found guilty of misappropriating state funds will be prosecuted in newly established audit courts and could face imprisonment at Nsawam Prison if they fail to refund the money.

President Mahama says persons implicated in Auditor-General reports will face prosecution in newly established audit courts.
Offenders could be compelled to refund misappropriated funds or face imprisonment at Nsawam Prison if they fail to comply.
The policy follows a 2025 agreement between the Presidency, Judiciary, Attorney-General and Auditor-General to establish special courts for audit-related offences.

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government is moving ahead with plans to prosecute individuals and officials who misuse public funds through a newly established audit courts, warning that offenders could face imprisonment if they fail to refund monies lost to the state.

Speaking at a diaspora town hall meeting in the United Kingdom, the President said the era of public officials being cited in Auditor-General's reports without facing consequences must come to an end.

Pres. Mahama at the diaspora town hall meeting

"We're setting up audit courts. Every year you hear the Auditor General's report Ghana lost 12 billion cedis from misappropriations and things," Mr Mahama stated.

He revealed that the Judiciary, through the Chief Justice, has established special courts to handle cases arising from audit findings, a move aimed at strengthening accountability and recovering public funds lost through financial irregularities.

"The Chief Justice has graciously set up audit courts and so this time we're not just going to go to the Public Accounts Committee and say that this person misappropriated, that this person misappropriated this and nothing happens," the President said.

According to him, the Attorney-General and the Auditor-General will work together after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) concludes its examination of audit findings to identify persons responsible for financial losses to the state and prosecute them before the special courts.

"After the Public Accounts Committee has looked at it, the Attorney General and the Auditor General are going to take out all the people who have misappropriated and we're putting them in front of those special courts to either refund that money or proceed to Nsawam and go and catch some rest," he added.

The President's latest remarks reinforce a policy direction his administration has pursued since assuming office, with the government repeatedly signalling its intention to strengthen enforcement mechanisms surrounding the Auditor-General's reports.

Auditor-General reports have over the years highlighted billions of cedis in irregular expenditures, procurement breaches, unsupported payments, revenue leakages and other financial infractions across public institutions, often leading to scrutiny by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee but with limited prosecutions.

The establishment of the audit courts is to bridge that enforcement gap and ensure that recommendations arising from audit findings translate into legal action where necessary.

Pres. Mahama maintained that the new courts would serve as a deterrent against financial misconduct in the public sector while helping the government recover funds that would otherwise be lost to the state.

🇬🇭 President John Dramani Mahama says the government has established Audit Courts to prosecute cases involving the misuse of public funds. He warned that individuals found guilty could be ordered to refund the money, with failure to do so potentially leading to imprisonment at… pic.twitter.com/akH45mYagq
— THE STATE NEWS (@THESTATENEWSS) June 1, 2026

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