Accra: The Supreme Court has dismissed an application by Gifty Oware-Mensah seeking to temporarily halt her criminal trial at the High Court. Oware-Mensah, the former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority, had sought the intervention of the Supreme Court to delay proceedings pending an interpretation of a practice direction crucial to the trial's case management procedures.
According to Ghana Web, the application, filed by her lawyer, Gary Nimako Marfo, aimed to pause the High Court trial while the Supreme Court reviewed the practice direction. However, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, ruled on May 19, 2026, that the application did not meet the necessary legal requirements for a stay of proceedings.
The Supreme Court noted that even with a potential constitutional interpretation of the practice direction, the High Court trial could proceed. Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie stated, "We are of the view that, having reviewed the processes so far, the application for stay does not meet the threshold for stay of proceedings. The applicant may choose to pursue the interpretation of the practice direction, but the trial at the High Court may still go on."
The background of the case involves charges filed against Oware-Mensah by the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, in October 2025. She is accused of creating 9,934 ghost names on the National Service Authority Central Management System. Prosecutors allege that she gained control of Blocks of Life Consult Limited by installing her mother's driver as a director and used the company to secure a financial facility from ADB.
The prosecution further claims that Oware-Mensah used the ghost beneficiaries' allowances as collateral to fraudulently obtain GHS38,458,248.87 over an 11-month period through deductions from these allowances. She faces charges including wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, and money laundering. Oware-Mensah has pleaded not guilty and has been granted bail by the High Court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay.