More than 500 individuals have been dismissed from Ghana’s security services following the discovery of widespread irregularities in recruitment processes conducted before and after the December 2024 general election.

The revelation was made by the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, on Monday, July 14, 2025, during the maiden edition of the Government Accountability Series in Accra.

According to the Minister, a special committee reviewed the records of approximately 5,200 personnel across key security agencies and found that hundreds had been recruited without meeting the basic entry criteria.

The affected agencies include:

Ghana Police Service – approximately 320 disqualified

Ghana Immigration Service – about 730 removed

Narcotics Control Commission – roughly 50 affected

Mr. Muntaka explained that the audit was triggered by public concerns over suspicious recruitment exercises advertised in August 2024, just months before the national elections.

The Minority in Parliament had alleged that the process was politically manipulated to favour party loyalists of the previous administration.

The comprehensive audit assessed academic qualifications, age eligibility, and medical fitness.

Findings revealed that some recruits were well over the age limit, while others were medically unfit or had no academic qualifications at all.

“In the Police Service alone, we found over 300 individuals who did not qualify,” Mr. Muntaka said.

“Some were in their forties, diabetic, and medically unfit, yet had been recruited.

We had to explain to them that with such conditions, they could not remain in service.”

He also recounted a case involving a Member of Parliament who lobbied for a relative undergoing training. Upon review, it was discovered that the individual had failed all subjects in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE), the minimum requirement for entry.

“They called and said the person didn’t pass SSSCE—not a single subject,” the Minister noted. “Once you don’t meet the basic qualification, you have to go.”

Each affected individual, he assured, was issued a formal letter explaining the grounds for their removal.

To restore public confidence and ensure transparency going forward, the Interior Minister announced a set of reforms to overhaul the recruitment process.

Among them are clear distinctions between officer and support staff roles, with new provisions for tradespeople such as drivers, cooks, painters, and dressmakers to be recruited into technical positions, not officer ranks.

“I know people who studied dressmaking in vocational schools. The security services need them to sew uniforms,” he explained.

“But they must know they’re being recruited as artisans, not officers.”

Future recruitment advertisements will also clearly outline job roles and minimum qualifications to prevent confusion and abuse.

The audit is one of the most thorough reviews of security sector recruitment in recent years and comes amid growing calls to depoliticise Ghana’s security services.

Concerns over professionalism and alleged infiltration by so-called "party foot soldiers" have dominated public discourse since the 2024 elections.

The ongoing recruitment review forms part of the government’s broader reform agenda aimed at strengthening discipline and integrity across public institutions.