South Africa evacuation: NPP Minority is using AI to manufacture scandal – Emmanuel Kotin

Emmanuel Kotin, Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Security and Counterterrorism, has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority in Parliament of using artificial intelligence (AI) to manufacture a scandal out of the government’s expenditure on evacuating Ghanaians from South Africa.

The controversy follows the Minority’s call for an independent audit of the GH¢49.72 million spent on evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa between May 27 and September 4, 2026, following renewed xenophobic attacks.

The caucus, after reviewing documents provided by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in response to a Right to Information request, alleged discrepancies in payment registers, flight manifests and other expenditure records.

It estimated that GH¢16.4 million required further explanation and called for a comprehensive audit of the exercise.

Reacting to this, Kotin said he initially supported calls for Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to be held to high standards of accountability but changed his position after reviewing the minister’s presentation and supporting documents.

Speaking on TV3’s New Day on Monday, October 19, he criticised the Minority’s handling of the matter, arguing that its allegations may undermine the party’s credibility.

“I was thinking we have a mighty minority, but unfortunately, I’m seeing an AI minority,” he said.

Kotin alleged that the documents presented by the Minority contained AI-generated watermarks and suggested that the caucus had used the technology to search for evidence of wrongdoing.

He cautioned against relying on artificial intelligence without independently verifying its findings, arguing that the technology could produce misleading conclusions when prompted to search for a scandal.

“If you are telling AI to find scandal when there is no scandal, AI will find scandal for you, but be mindful to read the end of it, where it says that AI could be wrong,” he stated.

Kotin said an audit covering evacuation exercises undertaken since 2017 would be a more constructive way to address concerns about the management of such operations and establish standards for future exercises.