Asaase News reports that Passport Director Yahaya Amantana Mahama has been interdicted over a service passport. The ministry has not confirmed it.

Published 6 Nov 2026, 07:26 GMTUpdated 6 Nov 2026, 07:32 GMT

3 min read

The Director of Passports has been interdicted.

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The Director of Passports, Yahaya Amantana Mahama, has reportedly been interdicted pending an inquiry into alleged irregularities around a service passport, Asaase News reported.

What the report says

The report said the move followed a petition to the ministry over a service passport and related matters. The petitioners were described as a pastor and his wife, and were not named.

Ambassador Alexander Grant chairs a five-member committee formed on Tuesday, October 13, the report said. It is expected to send its findings to the minister by the end of this week, unless the timetable changes.

Ambassador Francis Danti Kotia, who was Director of Passports in May 2019, has reportedly been asked to act until the inquiry ends.

Two accounts of an earlier interdiction

MPs had already described a different officer as interdicted. Neither account named the Director of Passports.

Akwatia MP Bernard Bediako Baidoo told TV3 on Wednesday, November 4, that the case was about a service passport, not a diplomatic one. He said the employee was recruited in November 2024, weeks before this government took office.

"As we speak, the gentleman is no longer working there. He's been interdicted," he said.

Majority Leader James Agalga told JoyNews' PM Express on Wednesday night that the officer had been recruited in 2004. He said Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa ordered that interdiction so investigators could work.

"The Foreign Affairs Minister, when the matter came to his attention, immediately caused the interdiction of the officer involved to pave the way for some investigations to be carried out," he said.

The two accounts give different years for when that officer was recruited. They do not identify Mr Mahama.

The row in Parliament

On Tuesday, November 3, Speaker Alban Bagbin had Damongo MP Samuel Abu Jinapor escorted from the chamber. Mr Jinapor had alleged that diplomatic passports were being sold for between US$10,000 and US$50,000.

"As we speak today, there is evidence, unimpeachable evidence, that today diplomatic passports are being sold, Mr Speaker," he told the House.

The Minority walked out with him. On Wednesday, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin defended Mr Jinapor and said the caucus held material that, in its view, pointed to false representations and apparent impersonation in how some diplomatic or service passports were obtained.

No investigation or court has established the sale claim. The Majority says what reached the ministry was a service-passport matter, not a sale of diplomatic passports.

On Thursday, November 5, Mr Jinapor wrote that the director's interdiction was something that had been reported. He asked for an inquiry covering both kinds of passport.

"It has since been reported that the Director of Passports has been interdicted," he wrote.

"Any wrongdoing must be uncovered, and all persons found culpable must be held accountable, without fear or favour," he added.

What happens next

Mr Jinapor said the Minority would use every lawful parliamentary route open to it. The reported committee is expected to reach the minister by the end of this week.

That cancellation is a separate exercise. The ministry has not said whether applications for ordinary passports are affected.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Director of Passports reportedly interdicted over service passport probe

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