In what many Ghanaians now view as a stunning reversal of campaign promises and a glaring act of selective justice, the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has dropped all criminal charges against former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and seven others in the high-profile UniBank collapse case.
The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, announced the decision to file a nolle prosequi—a legal term meaning discontinuation of prosecution—during a government accountability briefing on Monday, July 28, 2025. His justification was that the charges never accused the defendants of outright theft but rather offenses such as “causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and falsification of accounts.” According to him, none of the accused personally benefitted from the alleged crimes.
But this argument falls flat for a public that remembers the NDC’s 2024 election mantra — Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL). It was a populist promise to claw back every pesewa misappropriated during the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration. Now, with the same NDC administration in power, that bold promise has been rebranded as unrealistic and “illusionary.”
Dr. Ayine’s admission that recovering 100% of lost public funds was never feasible strikes at the very heart of the NDC’s anti-corruption credibility. It begs a serious question: Was ORAL ever a genuine policy, or was it just a political gimmick used to whip up voter anger?
The decision to discontinue prosecution against Dr. Duffuor—a politically connected figure within the NDC who once contested the party’s flagbearer race—has rightly triggered suspicions of favoritism and a double standard in how justice is applied under the current government. It is made worse by the fact that Dr. Ayine himself once served as legal counsel for Dr. Duffuor, a potential conflict of interest that casts a shadow over the Attorney-General’s motives.
Under the Akufo-Addo administration, the collapse of over seven banks—including uniBank, Capital Bank, and UT Bank—was met with decisive legal action. Though criticized in some circles as a political witch-hunt, it at least demonstrated a willingness to prosecute financial crimes at the highest level, regardless of affiliations. Ironically, the very party that decried those prosecutions is now absolving its own without a full trial, citing negotiated settlements and technicalities over legal definitions.
The A-G says the accused have agreed to return GH¢2 billion, including GH¢800 million in assets already handed over and an estimated GH¢1.2 billion expected from third parties over 18 months. While asset recovery is undoubtedly important, Ghanaians are not wrong to expect legal accountability, especially in a case that involved the alleged misuse of GH¢663 million in public funds and the destruction of one of the nation’s major indigenous banks.
This isn’t just about Dr. Duffuor or UniBank. It’s about the fundamental principle that public officials and politically connected elites must not be above the law. The NDC, owes Ghanaians a higher standard of accountability—not leniency for its own and harsh prosecution only for its political opponents.
Meanwhile, as Dr. Duffuor walks free, NPP officials remain the target of multiple probes. Some are being dragged through long, winding legal processes, many of which are yet to bear fruit. If the NDC government truly believes in justice, it must demonstrate that belief through fairness, not selective exoneration.
Justice is not only about recovering assets. It is also about sending a clear message that misconduct—whether financial or political—has consequences. Unfortunately, the current administration’s handling of the Duffuor case sends the opposite message: if you are powerful enough and close enough to the ruling party, the rules bend in your favor.
In the end, the ORAL promise has turned out to be nothing more than political theatre. And Ghanaians are waking up to the realization that the war against corruption, under this government, might have just become a carefully choreographed illusion.
