Tension at Tema: Who Is in Charge of Ghana's Busiest Port?

Ghana's largest maritime gateway is facing questions about who holds security authority there, at a time when the port is under pressure over a record cocaine seizure.

The liaison dispute
Business Day Ghana reports that the National Security liaison position at Tema Port was recently changed after corruption allegations against its previous holder, and a replacement was named. According to an anonymous source, the change did not bring clarity.

The source alleges the Port Security Manager, identified in the report as Colonel Daniel Atobrah Bondah, was made to perform functions tied to the liaison role, which the source called a conflict of interest. The report stresses that naming Colonel Bondah reflects his official position only and is not an allegation of wrongdoing against him.

The claims come from one anonymous source and have not been confirmed by National Security, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) or the Port Security Management. I saw no official response.

Why the timing matters
The dispute comes after French customs seized nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at Dunkirk on September 10, hidden in a container of plastic waste that arrived from Ghana. The consignment was valued at about US$261 million and was reportedly partly bound for Antwerp.

Prosecutions: Six people were remanded on September 17 over four containers that allegedly left Tema. Four of them are Ghana Revenue Authority officers linked to the scanning process.

Prosecutors allege abnormalities were detected in scans, but the containers were not examined further before release. All six are presumed innocent, and the case continues.

Insider concerns: Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak told Parliament in July that investigators believed some people within the system were involved in concealing and moving drugs.

He has since said foreign partners are increasingly reluctant to share intelligence with Ghana because of fears of internal leaks.Political pressure: Opposition MPs have demanded a full probe, and the NPP has called for officials to be dismissed.

The structural question
Tema is guarded by many hands: Customs, National Security, Port Security Management, the Food and Drugs Authority and others. Shared responsibility works only if the lines of authority are clear.

Business Day's source raises questions that records could settle: who deployed the officers in the relevant areas, who supervised them, and who received their reports.

The evidence should exist in CCTV footage, deployment schedules, scanning records and access-control logs.This is not the first restructuring.

Earlier, National Security Coordinator Razak Abdul-Osman dissolved all special task forces and operational units at the port, explicitly to end parallel command structures and create a unified chain of command.

Whether the current liaison arrangement has restored that clarity is what is now in doubt.

What Ghana should do
For a country whose ports are its trade lifeline, and which is already under international scrutiny as a transit point, reassurance requires specifics.

Authorities should publish, or brief Parliament on:

The current role and reporting line of the security liaison at Tema.

How it relates to the Port Security Manager.What the scanning, CCTV and deployment records show about the four containers.

Until then, a dispute over who does what at the port will keep feeding suspicion about who was watching when the cocaine moved.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

Sources
Business Day Ghana: "Tension Mounts at Tema Port Over Security Liaison Role" (September 22, 2026)

3News: "Court remands six over alleged export of 3.9 tonnes of cocaine to France" (September 2026)

MyJoyOnline: "Sosu demands probe into $260m cocaine shipment seized in France"

Pulse Ghana: "Ntim Fordjour demands probe after $261m Ghana-linked cocaine seizure in France"

The Herald Ghana / GhanaWeb: "10 suspects busted in US$261 million cocaine shipment"

MyJoyOnline via UA.News: NPP calls for officials' dismissal after cocaine seizure

Graphic Online: "National Security overhauls Tema Port operations"

The New Crusading Guide, front page, September 28, 2026