Accra’s railway that never arrived: the $2 million SkyTrain payment on trial

The record

The public promise and the payment

The proposal was an elevated rail system intended to ease congestion in Ghana’s capital. Ghana News Agency traces it to a 2018 memorandum with a South African consortium and a build-operate-transfer concession signed in November 2019. The proposed project cost was $2.6 billion. That estimate is separate from the $2 million transaction being tried. [1]

The defendants are Solomon Asamoah, former chief executive of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, and Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, its former board chair. Prosecutors allege that the fund paid Africa Investor Holdings Limited in South Africa without the required board approval. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty. [1][2]

Where the court proceedings stand

The prosecution closed its evidence in May 2026. Defence lawyers then sought permission to argue that there was no case to answer. That application challenged whether the evidence was sufficient to require a defence; it was not, by itself, an acquittal. [1]

On 5 October, the High Court postponed the case-management conference to 19 October. According to Graphic Online, Asamoah’s lawyer asked it to allow the Supreme Court to consider an application seeking to stop the trial, listed for 13 October. The prosecution noted that filing such an application did not automatically suspend the High Court proceedings. These dates were still prospective when this report was prepared on 10 October. [2]

What the missing railway does not prove

An unbuilt project is a serious accountability issue, but it does not alone establish a defendant’s criminal intent. The evidential questions are narrower: what authority covered this payment, what consideration was promised, what records document its use, and how do the defendants answer the allegations?

The prosecution’s statement that it could not trace the money remains its allegation, not a finding of conviction. [1] For citizens, the useful distinction is between explaining why a transport promise failed and proving who committed a crime. The trial must resolve the criminal allegations. The fund’s decisions also deserve public scrutiny now.

Based on reporting from: Ghana News Agency · Prosecution closes its case · 20 May 2026; Graphic Online · Trial adjourned to 19 October · 5 October 2026.