NewsFile: The GH¢16 Million Evacuation Coffin with Nobody – Kay Cudjoe

In an Official Facebook Post on 25 October 2026, policy analyst Kay Codjoe issued a detailed critique of the ongoing national controversy surrounding the reported GH¢49.72 million South Africa evacuation exercise, following a heated debate on JoyNews’ flagship current affairs program Newsfile, hosted by Samson Lardy Anyenini.

Codjoe opened his analysis with a dramatic allegory to illustrate what he characterized as premature public judgment and flawed arithmetic by opposition figures:

> “A man walks into a courtroom carrying a coffin. The judge asks, ‘Who died?’ You answer, ‘Your Lordship, we are still investigating.’ ‘Then what is inside the coffin?’ ‘Suspicion, my Lord.’ And so began today’s Newsfile.”

Directing his critique at Minority spokesperson Honourable Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Codjoe questioned the mathematical consistency and methodology underlying opposition claims of financial misappropriation. While the Minority claimed that 1,964 Ghanaians were evacuated with an entitlement of GH¢5,500 per person (GH¢5,000 for reintegration and GH¢500 for transport), Codjoe pointed out that the Minority’s own register comparisons—showing 1,708 entries in one document, 1,001 in another, and 824 overlapping names—yielded an unresolved discrepancy of GH¢6.27 million requiring proper reconciliation.

Analyzing the underlying register data, Codjoe observed that the actual component-by-component gap in documented payment entries totals GH¢1,761,500, subject to verification of signatures, identities, and physical disbursements. He emphasized that a conditional calculation based on administrative spreadsheets does not equate to an established financial loss, noting that even the Minority’s reported figures fluctuate between GH¢16,423,470 and GH¢16,302,586—a difference of GH¢120,884.

Addressing the procedural aspects of the probe, Codjoe criticized the notion that initial Right to Information (RTI) disclosures should permanently limit the scope of investigation. He argued that finding duplicate passport entries does not automatically prove double cash disbursements, warning that “a spreadsheet is not a bank vault”. Furthermore, regarding payments for initial charter flights, Codjoe noted that if National Security handled the contracts, accountability demands should be directed to the contracting institution rather than solely to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Reaffirming the policy stance of IMANI Center for Policy and Education (IMANI CPE), Codjoe called for an independent, professional forensic audit to establish the absolute truth regarding state expenditure. He concluded that questioning opposition arithmetic does not absolve the Ministry of its duty to account, nor does demanding state accountability exempt opposition claims from rigorous public scrutiny.

The post has generated active discussion across governance networks, media channels, and social platforms. While government communicators welcomed the critique of opposition figures, civil society advocates agreed with Codjoe’s insistence that only an independent audit can bring final clarity to the evacuation financial records.

Source: Kay Codjoe, Official Facebook Post, 25 October 2026