Two of Ghana’s most well-known civic voices, investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni and lawyer and activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor, have sharply criticised the escalating controversy surrounding a video that shows NDC’s National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, giving cash to a teleevangelist.
Both men, who are well-known for their unreserved views on matters of integrity and accountability, have openly criticised what they see as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) obvious double standards in political commentary and moral outrage.
In a scathing critique, Barker-Vormawor mocked the sudden moral outrage of NPP supporters who, in his opinion, have ignored widespread grand corruption and abuse of power during the previous Nana Akufo-Addo administration.
His critique, which was unvarnished and unapologetic, exposed what he called a performative righteousness that was intended to make cheap political points rather than uphold Ghana’s moral foundation.
“Some of the takes I’ve seen — from people who, just five months ago, couldn’t spell ‘wrong’ — have been the most difficult thing to stomach in this whole Sammy Gyamfi saga.
“You, who defended the actual rape of this country for eight straight years… now you’re clutching your pearls like some sacred moral code has been defiled?”
Osagyefo Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Legal Practitioner and Activist
Akufo-Addo Regime’s ‘Depraved Instincts‘
For Barker-Vormawor, the backlash against Sammy Gyamfi’s action—despite its own moral concerns, is overshadowed by the hypocrisy of those who cheered on the Akufo-Addo regime’s “depraved instincts” but now suddenly claim moral superiority.
He underlined that such responses are the result of intentional complicity rather than ignorance.
“You were aware. you always knew,” he fumed, criticising opposition party members for feigning blindness to corruption but then speaking up when it suits their political agenda.
He urged state institutions to move forward with investigations and actions against the previous government’s officials in all areas without fear or favour by concluding with the words, “EOCO, OSP, Attorney-General — let’s go!“.
And in a final jab, he questioned the whereabouts of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, whose tenure faced its own share of criticism over controversial financial dealings.
Manasseh’s Critique
In response to calls from his supporters to denounce Sammy Gyamfi, Manasseh Azure Awuni adopted a more thoughtful but no less harsh stance.
Manasseh reminded his readers in a statement that his job is to make meaningful contributions where his voice is valuable, not to weigh in on every political scandal that is currently trending.
He clarified that his silence on Sammy Gyamfi’s case should not be interpreted as prejudice or moral weakness, saying, “I write what I feel strongly about.”
“I’m not here to seek validation. I write out of conviction, and that explains why I sometimes take positions that are not popular. Why am I saying this? Hours after the Agradaa and Sammy Gyamfi video surfaced, one follower commented under my post to the effect that Sammy Gyamfi’s gift to Agradaa was the test of my integrity.
“Really? If that is your litmus test of integrity, then it says more about the deficiency of your intellect than the strength of my character.”
Manasseh Azure Awuni
He highlighted the irony in how some of the loudest voices now condemning Sammy Gyamfi were previously silent—or even defensive—when he exposed the controversial SML deal, involving over $500 million in public funds.
“It is easier to write a post about Sammy Gyamfi than to turn your back on hundreds of thousands of dollars, cars, and houses, and pursue causes that have saved the nation hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Manasseh Azure Awuni
Manasseh Azure further pointed out that many within the NDC who are now lashing out at Sammy Gyamfi are not necessarily driven by principles, but by exclusion and internal power dynamics.
“They are not outraged about the conduct. They are angry because he bypassed them and gave the money to an outsider,” he claimed, alluding to the deep undercurrents of factionalism within the ruling party.
He urged the public to self-reflect before hurling accusations of hypocrisy, and questioned how those who defended SML and Cecilia Abena Dapaah’s scandal are in a hurry to call someone a hypocrite for not posting about Sammy Gyamfi.
“Don’t waste your data looking for that hypocrite. Stand in front of a mirror,” he said pointedly.
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