The NSA scandal continues to send shockwaves throughout Ghana as Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare has challenged the growing public tendency to hide behind legal formalities in the face of massive corruption.
Following the Attorney General’s explosive revelations about the National Service Authority (NSA) scandal, Prof. Asare observed that a familiar and troubling narrative has resurfaced, with some insisting that theft can only be confirmed by a court conviction, dismissing the allegations as unproven and condemning public discourse as premature or improper.
According to Prof. Asare, while such statements are often ignored, this time the NSA scandal demands a much stronger response due to the sheer scale of the looting involved.
He argued that people are free to hold onto their personal illusions, but equating moral paralysis with legal sophistication is dangerously misleading in this instance.
“Let us be clear. The claim that ‘it’s only stealing when a court convicts’ reflects a dangerous misunderstanding of both law and common sense.”
“Yes, in criminal law, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. That presumption is the bedrock of due process, and rightly so. It protects us all from arbitrary state power. GOGO fully endorses that presumption.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
However, Prof. Asare emphasized that although due process safeguards the rights of defendants in court, it does not require the public to ignore clear evidence of wrongdoing until legal proceedings are concluded.
He argued that the Constitution ensures fair trials but does not demand that citizens forget or overlook credible allegations.
Citizens Urged to Recognize Factual Wrongdoing
Furthermore, Prof. Kwaku Asare explained that the distinction between legal guilt and factual wrongdoing is essential.
According to him, while courts determine who can be legally punished, society—including journalists, farmers, activists, and everyday citizens—has both the right and duty to evaluate facts, recognize patterns, and call out looting when the evidence is credible and overwhelming.
“If ₵548 million is siphoned through inflated payrolls, dummy vendors, fake service personnel, and detailed reports trace the money from public coffers to private accounts, we do not need a conviction before we say the state has been robbed; That there has been looting.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
Prof. Asare warned that demanding a courtroom conviction before recognizing theft shuts down vital anti-corruption efforts.
Such an approach stifles journalism, audits, whistleblowing, and public discourse, all under the pretext of respecting due process.
He pointed out that in reality, this exaggerated interpretation of legal principles only serves to enable further impunity.
Double Standards Emerge Amid NSA Scandal
Moreover, Prof. Asare strongly condemned the double standard he observed in the NSA scandal.
He highlighted how society is quick to condemn petty theft instantly, yet becomes hesitant and overly cautious when powerful political figures embezzle vast sums of money.
He urged Ghanaians to stop hiding behind legal formalism to excuse the inexcusable.
Pretending that documented looting is invisible until a judge delivers a verdict is both intellectually dishonest and morally corrosive, he added.
“The AG’s press briefing laid out the facts with clarity. This was not a vague allegation. It was a detailed account of how a patriotic youth program was converted into a personal ATM for some officials and their collaborators.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
Accordingly, Prof. Asare declared that this is not simply a scandal or political controversy—it is outright theft, betrayal, looting, and ultimately, a crime against the Republic.
While the courts will determine who should be jailed, citizens have both the right and the responsibility to condemn such acts without hesitation.
He explained that remaining silent in the face of overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing does not uphold fairness but rather enables continued lawlessness and impunity. “And the Republic cannot afford that anymore.”
The NSA scandal thus stands not only as an indictment of individuals but of a societal culture that tolerates corruption through silence and inaction.
Prof. Asare’s call is clear: the public must rise above legal technicalities and confront wrongdoing wherever it exists, for the sake of national integrity and future generations.
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