A Ghanaian citizen has filed an action against the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) seeking an order of the High Court to compel the Commission to perform its duty following its refusal to acknowledge, respond to, and investigate a petition submitted to it concerning some public appointees who have failed to declare their assets as required by law.
The action filed at the registry of the general jurisdiction High Court on Monday, 9 February 2026, by a lawyer for the complainant, Eric Dawda Esq., seeks an order of mandamus compelling the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to perform its statutory duty of investigating the affected public officers.
The Complaint
On 20 November 2025, A formal complaint was submitted to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) calling for a full-scale investigation into the failure of several public office holders, comprising board chairpersons and chief executives of major state-owned enterprises, to comply with their constitutional and statutory obligations to declare their assets and liabilities.
However, CHRAJ, since receiving the complaint on 20 November 2025, has not acknowledged receipt, let alone carried out its statutory duty to investigate the matters complained of by the complainant. On 11 December 2025, 21 days after the original complaint was filed, the complainant followed up with a letter to CHRAJ, which was also ignored.
The complaint, filed by Mr. Wilberforce Asare, a journalist and citizen of Ghana, invokes Article 287 of the 1992 Constitution, section 12 of the CHRAJ Act (Act 456), and the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (Act 550)
The action follows an official response from the Auditor-General dated 4 November 2025, issued pursuant to an RTI request, confirming that multiple board chairpersons and certain chief executives had either failed to declare their assets entirely or made declarations in roles different from their current public offices.
Under Article 286(1), public officers—including board chairs and chief executives of public corporations—are required to declare their assets before taking office, at the end of every four years, and at the end of their term of office. Failure to do so constitutes a direct violation of the Constitution and is subject to sanction under Article 287.
Additionally, Section 1(1) of Act 550 provides that “a person who holds a public office mentioned in section 3 shall submit to the Auditor General a written declaration of: (a) the properties or assets owned, whether directly or indirectly by that person, and (b) the liabilities owned, whether directly or indirectly by that person.”
Section 1(4) of the same Act 550 further provides that “the declaration shall be made: (a) before taking office, (b) at the end of every four years, and (c) at the end of the term of office.”
Investigation Request
The complaint requests CHRAJ to “Investigate all identified breaches of Article 286 and Act 550, make findings on the extent of non-compliance and apply the necessary sanctions, including disqualification from public boards, councils, or commissions, consistent with CHRAJ’s precedent in Ghana Integrity Initiative v. Adjenim Boateng Adjei & 9 Others.
The complainant noted in his complaint to CHRAJ that asset declaration is “a critical anti-corruption safeguard, designed to ensure accountability, prevent abuse of office, and preserve public trust,” adding that the law requires strict compliance without exception.
The complaint emphasises that the Commission’s past decisions, most notably the widely publicised sanction imposed on Professor Douglas Boateng, create a legitimate expectation that CHRAJ will apply the same or higher standard in this case, in accordance with the principles of fairness, equality before the law, and administrative consistency.
Background
On 20 October 2025, the Complainant filed a right to information (RTI) request to the office of the Auditor General to confirm whether or not Chief Executives and Board Chairpersons of some 15 public institutions have submitted their asset and liability declarations to the Auditor General as required under Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution and sections 1 and 3 of the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (A550).
The RTI request was received by the Auditor General’s office on Tuesday, 21 October 2025. The Auditor General, through Frederick Lokko, Assistant Director of Audit/Information Officer, responded to the RTI request on Monday, 4 November 2025 (the Auditor General’s response is attached to this complaint).
The RTI request cataloged 15 institutions, including the names of the chief executives and board chairpersons. According to the Auditor General’s response, all 15 Chief Executives have declared their assets, even though two of them did so under different circumstances, not in their current roles.
The board chairs who have not declared their assets included Professor Joseph Oteng-Adjei, board chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, board chairman of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Alhaji Huudu Yahaya Īddrisu, Richard Kwame Asante, board chairman of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), and board chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), Nana Dwemoh Benneh.
The remaining are Franklin Mensah, board chairman of Ghana Export-Import Bank, Dr. Joseph Nyarkotei Dorh, board chairman of the Ghana Gold Board, Mr. Kojo Fynn, board chairman of Petroleum Commission, Ernest Thompson, board chairman of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Nana Ansah Sasraku III, and the board chairman of Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), Kwaku Osafo-Buabeng.
The Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Dr. Ransford Anertey Abbey, declared his assets and liabilities on 24 March 2025, but in his capacity as a policy advisor to the Vice President (Political Affairs), not as CEO of Cocobod. The CEO of the Minerals Commission, Isaac Andrew Tandoh, declared his assets as deputy CEO on 2 April 2025, not under his current capacity as the substantive CEO.
Bernard Ahiafor, the board chairman of the State Insurance Company (SIC), declared his assets and liabilities on 12 May 2025, not as board chairman but as the 1st Deputy Speaker of the 9th Parliament and Member of Parliament (MP) for Akatsi South. James Agalga, board chairman of the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), declared his assets and liabilities on 10 July 2025 as MP for Builsa North.
In effect, nine board chairs appointed by the Mahama administration have failed to declare their assets as required by Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution and sections 1 and 3 of the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (A550), the Auditor General’s response to the “Right to Information” (RTI) request revealed.
