Benedicta Akpene Ansah moved to Central Region; ‘Wobedibi checkpoints’ cleared on Tema–Aflao but remain on Juapong–Peki–Nkwanta
The fall-out from an alleged roadside bribery scheme in the Volta Region’s Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) has claimed its most senior figure yet.
Chief Superintendent Benedicta Akpene Ansah, until now the regional MTTD commander in Ho, has been demoted and transferred to Breman Asikuma in the Asikuma/Odoben/Brakwa District of the Central Region, where she will serve as a district commander. The New Republic has independently confirmed the redeployment. Regional sources say she has left Ho.
The sanction is significant under Ghana Police Service regulations. Demotion is reserved for professional misconduct or serious offences.
It follows months of investigation by The New Republic into allegations that MTTD personnel deployed at checkpoints across Volta collected money from motorists and channelled the proceeds into a central welfare account. The money was allegedly shared by rank, with senior officers taking larger portions than junior personnel. C/Supt. Ansah, then Ho MTTD Units Commander, is identified as the alleged architect.
She was confronted with evidence from 8 July 2026. She declined to answer the queries and did not respond to subsequent telephone calls.
The account records reviewed by The New Republic show two separate balance domains the ‘Transfer Wallet’ and the ‘Crowd-Funding Wallet’ interleaved on the same statement. Treating them as a single running balance would produce misleading discrepancies.
At the time the records became available, the Transfer Wallet had received GH¢105,155.04 in deposits, with debits of GH¢73,835.46 and fees of GH¢437.88, leaving GH¢31,031.70. The Crowd-Funding Wallet had received GH¢90,675.00, with debits of GH¢5,575.00 and a closing balance of GH¢84,950.00.
The alleged welfare account was operated by Ho MTTD, according to the investigation. Officers at road duty points allegedly acted as foot soldiers in the collection process.
Collections were not uniform. The Sogakope and Juapong stretches were considered more lucrative; officers there were allegedly expected to meet weekly targets of GH¢3,500–4,000. At other points, the expected weekly yield was about GH¢400.
Sources say the system operated through groups of five to 12 officers under the local name ‘Wobedibi’, a Twi expression loosely meaning ‘you will eat some’. At the end of each collection period, money was allegedly paid into Mobile Money account 0540751376.
Access was controlled by regional command leadership through a code or PIN. Portions were distributed periodically by rank; the remainder was retained as a reserve for purported welfare activities.
The investigation also found that the alleged incentives fuelled a proliferation of checkpoints. Motorists travelling between Accra and Aflao could encounter as many as 18. After publication, some were dismantled. Sources confirm artificial checkpoints on the Tema–Aflao stretch have been cleared.
But the Police Administration has not completely dismantled all those identified. Checkpoints remain on parts of the Juapong–Peki–Nkwanta road despite calls for the system to end.
The demotion and transfer of C/Supt. Ansah is the most significant disciplinary action to emerge from The New Republic’s investigation into the Volta MTTD. Whether it marks the beginning of a wider purge or the containment of a deeper scandal remains to be seen. The welfare account, the chain of command and the remaining checkpoints are all still in question.
