News
Ahafo yet to record COVID-19 positive case … as national hits 7,303
The Ahafo Region is now the only one out of the 16 administrative regions in the country that has not recorded any COVID-19 case although the national tally has reached 7,303.
This was after its counterpart, the Bono East Region, recorded its first case this week, according to the Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Badu Sarkodie.
At yesterday’s COVID-19 briefing in Accra, he said details would be made public in the ensuing days because information about the new case was received moments before the briefing.
As of May 26, Dr Sarkodie said 2,412 patients had recovered with the death toll at 34, bringing the active cases (persons known to be living with the virus currently) to 4,857.
He said the national tally went up after 186 new cases were recorded in 31 districts in four regions; Greater Accra had 140, Central-23, Ashanti -14 and Eastern, nine.
He said 14 of the active cases were severely ill but not on ventilators while three were critically ill.
Greater Accra, he said, continues to have the highest number of cases of 5,148 Ashanti – 1,099; Central- 360, Western Region – 344, Eastern- 117, Western North Region – 62 and Volta-59.
According to the director of public health, the Northern Region had recorded 36 cases, Oti – 26, Upper East Region-26, Upper West– 22North East– 2; Savannah– and Bono one each.
He described that fact that Tema and Obuasi, which had earlier been declared as hotspots for the virus, had not record any new cases, an indication that response actions by the management team were yielding results.
Asked why the country’s daily cases were not declining sharply, Dr Sarkodie explained that it was because people were not strictly adhering to the hygienic protocol.
He, therefore advised the public to play their part to reduce cases.
On the Wednesday’s mishap on the GHS website, in which the case count was changed after less than an hour, he said it was a technical error and he apologised for it.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has amended the charges in the ongoing case against former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Chief Executive, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, and nine others.
The number of counts has risen from 25 to 54 after investigators uncovered new evidence.
The accused are facing trial for alleged large-scale extortion, abuse of public office, and money laundering involving over GH¢291 million and US$332,000.
According to the OSP, the accused persons allegedly extorted huge sums of money from bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies under the pretext of carrying out official duties.
The proceeds were reportedly laundered through the purchase of properties and investments in business entities to conceal their source.
The accused persons include Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Jacob Kwamina Amuah, Wendy Newman, Albert Ankrah, Isaac Mensah, Bright Bediako-Mensah, Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited.
The OSP has also seized and frozen several assets, including tanker trucks, fuel stations, houses, apartments, and parcels of land valued at more than GH¢100 million pending the outcome of the trial.
The case, titled The Republic v. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid & 9 Others (Cr/0603/2025), is currently being heard at the Accra High Court.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The National Operations Directorate (NOD) Surveillance Unit, of the Ghana Police Service has arrested a 32-year-old man, Akoto Nelson, for posing as a police officer during a public event at the Black Star Square in Accra.
The suspect was arrested on Sunday, 19th October 2025, by a team of officers deployed to provide security at a musical concert. The team observed the suspect dressed in a police uniform with the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) behaving suspiciously. Upon interrogation, he admitted that he was not a police officer.
Investigations revealed that the suspect impersonated a police officer to gain free entry to the event, claiming he did not have money to pay the entry fee. He further disclosed that the uniform belonged to a deceased Chief Inspector, identified as Gyasi, from whom he obtained the police accoutrements in 2022.
A subsequent search conducted at his residence in Taifa-Ashaiman uncovered several items that were retained as exhibits. These include one toy P99 pistol, one pepper spray, two ZTE mini handsets, one pepper spray pouch, one ZTE charger, one Xinfa cutter knife, some complimentary cards, one voter ID in the name of Akoto Nelson Elikem, and one birth certificate in the name of Nelson Akoto.
Preliminary investigations further established that the suspect works as a security guard and a messenger at a private company. He remains in police custody and will be put before the court.
