Although many Ghanaians believe politicians often evade justice, several landmark cases illustrate that accountability is possible.
One such case was in 2012 when Ken Kuranchie, an NPP member and former media board appointee, was sentenced to three weeks in prison for contempt after publishing an article on an election petition. Another high-profile incident involved the Montie FM trio—Salifu Maase, Aku Gunn, and Alistair Nelson— who used their platform to hurl insults at the judiciary and even issue threats against the Chief Justice. The courts handed them three-month jail terms, though they later benefitted from a presidential pardon under Nana Akufo-Addo.
Even former President Jerry John Rawlings was once on the wrong side of the law. After his failed coup attempt in 1979, he was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death before the punishment was commuted, eventually allowing him to reemerge as a national leader. Similarly, Adamu Dramani Sakande, the late MP for Bawku Central, was convicted of forgery and lying under oath, resulting in a two-year concurrent prison sentence.
These cases, though rare, serve as reminders that the legal system has, at times, acted decisively against politicians—offering evidence that they are not always beyond the reach of justice.
