Ghana’s justice minister rejects espionage fears over dual nationals as reforms seek wider diaspora participation in public office
Keypoints:
- Justice minister rejects passport-based suspicion
- Alleged CIA role in 1966 coup cited
- Presidency remains closed to dual nationals
GHANA’S Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dominic Ayine, has rejected concerns that allowing citizens with multiple nationalities to occupy sensitive government positions could expose the country to espionage, arguing that disloyalty cannot be determined by the number of passports a person holds.
Responding to a journalist during the Government Accountability Series in Accra on July 30, 2026, Ayine said the risk of foreign influence should be assessed through individual conduct rather than an assumption that dual nationals are inherently less loyal to Ghana.
Journalist raises espionage fears
The journalist asked whether a foreign government could pressure or induce a dual national serving in a strategic position to obtain confidential information or act against Ghana’s interests.
Ayine disputed the premise, arguing that a citizen holding only Ghanaian nationality could also be influenced by money, political interests or other inducements.
He then referred to longstanding allegations of CIA involvement in the February 24, 1966 overthrow of Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, challenging the view that dual citizenship was the principal source of espionage or foreign interference.
‘Those who collaborated with the CIA to overthrow Kwame Nkrumah, were they dual citizens? They were not,’ Ayine said.
His response suggested that potential acts of espionage should be judged through evidence and individual conduct rather than by treating every Ghanaian with another nationality as an automatic security threat.
Position paper backs wider access
Ayine was explaining the government’s position paper on the final recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee.
He stressed that the document was a position paper, not a White Paper, because the committee had not been established as a commission of inquiry under Chapter 23 of the Constitution.
Under the government’s position, Ghanaian citizens by birth would no longer be prevented from contesting parliamentary elections solely because they hold another nationality.
Ghana’s Constitution currently permits dual citizenship but bars dual nationals from offices including ambassador, Secretary to the Cabinet, Chief of Defence Staff, Inspector-General of Police and Director of Immigration. Article 94 also restricts parliamentary eligibility where a person owes allegiance to another country.
How the review began
Mahama announced the eight-member Constitutional Review Committee on January 19, 2025, appointing constitutional lawyer and Ghana Centre for Democratic Development Executive Director Professor H Kwasi Prempeh as its chairman.
Its members included former Supreme Court Justice Sophia Adinyira, former Electoral Commission chairperson Charlotte Osei, journalist and academic Professor Kwame Karikari and governance specialists drawn from civil society and academia.
The committee was instructed to examine earlier constitutional review reports, consult citizens and stakeholders, bring together the resulting proposals and develop a road map for amending Ghana’s 1992 Constitution. It conducted stakeholder meetings and nationwide public engagements before completing its work.
Mahama received the committee’s final recommendations on December 22, 2025, and directed that the report be released publicly.
The exercise sought to revive constitutional reforms that had remained unresolved after previous review processes, including the 2010 Constitution Review Commission and the 2024 Constitution Review Consultative Committee.
Presidency remains restricted
The government has not supported the removal of every citizenship restriction.
Under its position, a citizen holding another nationality would remain ineligible to serve as President or Vice-President. Most other elective and appointive offices would no longer be closed automatically to a citizen merely because that person holds another nationality.
The proposals have not yet changed the Constitution. Existing restrictions will continue to apply until Parliament and, where required, voters complete the relevant amendment procedures.
A separate private member’s Constitution Amendment Bill was gazetted on October 9, 2025, and laid before Parliament on February 24, 2026.
The Council of State advised Parliament on July 7 against passing the bill, although its recommendation is advisory and does not prevent lawmakers from continuing the constitutional process.
The disagreement now centres on whether Ghana can protect sensitive institutions without excluding a growing section of its diaspora from public service.L