Stephen Donkor sues the NDC over his exclusion from the General Secretary race after paying the GH¢80,000 fee
Stephen Donkor, an aspirant for General Secretary of Ghana's ruling National Democratic Congress, has sued the party and its Director of Elections and IT, Mahdi Gibrill, at the High Court in Accra over his exclusion from the list of successful nominees for the party's December internal elections. Donkor, who paid the GH¢80,000 filing fee, says his nomination-portal login was changed without his permission on 6 November, locking him out of completing his forms; the party's IT director says Donkor shared his login details with others and was advised how to continue.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
- Checking claims6 of 6 claims checked
- 4Human gateWe are here
6 of 6 claims checked so far · step 4 of 4: Human gate
Key points
- Donkor has sued the NDC and elections director Mahdi Gibrill at the High Court in Accra over his exclusion.
- He paid the GH¢80,000 General Secretary filing fee and says his portal login was changed without his permission on 6 November.
- Gibrill denies blocking him: he says Donkor shared his login details and was advised how to continue.
Show more (1)
- With Donkor out, incumbent Fifi Fiavi Kwetey stands alone for General Secretary at the 19 December congress.
What happened
The NDC, Ghana's ruling party, is electing its national executives ahead of the next general election cycle. Its nomination process ran online this year, and Donkor's complaint about the portal had already drawn a public answer from the party's IT director two days before he went to court.
The dispute is narrow but consequential: if the court restores Donkor, the General Secretary race reopens against an incumbent who currently stands unopposed; if it does not, the exclusion stands on a disagreement about who controlled one login.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · Stephen Donkor's case
- His portal login credentials were changed on the evening of 6 November without his authorisation, locking him out.
- The lockout stopped him completing Forms A and C, and his exclusion from the nominees list is unlawful.
- He paid the GH¢80,000 filing fee, is ready to submit the remaining forms, and asks the court to restore his access and order his nomination to be processed and vetted.
Side B · The NDC's answer (Mahdi Gibrill)
- There was no deliberate blocking: a reset PIN is a one-time code sent to the aspirant's own registered phone.
- Donkor collected his form at party headquarters with call-centre help, and shared his login details with several people, which logged him out.
- He was personally advised to continue his application using another ID detail.
Independently verified
4 claims independently verified — listed in the claim-by-claim check below.Not yet verified
Nothing outstanding.What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the suit has been filed at the High Court in Accra, naming the party and Mahdi Gibrill, and the relief it seeks.
- That Donkor paid the GH¢80,000 fee in the party's own schedule, and that nominations closed on 9 November with Kwetey alone for General Secretary.
What we don't know yet
- What actually happened to Donkor's portal login on 6 November — his account and the party's account contradict each other, and the court has not heard the case.
- The NDC's formal response to the lawsuit itself — none had been filed or published in the reporting read.
- When the court will hear the case, and whether any order could still get Donkor vetted before the 19 December congress.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (6)
Why this label: The filing and the two defendants are reported from the court documents by Joy Online, with the same account carried by WinnebaNews.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The fee he paid matches the party's own published schedule for the post — GH¢80,000, with a separate GH¢2,000 nomination-form fee.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: This is Donkor's allegation in his statement of claim. It is the heart of the case and it is contested — the party's IT director gives a different account, in the claim below.
On the ladder: credible sources conflict, so we show both workings. One side's own statement is that side's position — never proof.
Why this label: Gibrill's account was given on Eyewitness News on 10 November, before the suit was filed; it is the party side's position, stated as such, and it directly contradicts Donkor's allegation.
On the ladder: credible sources conflict, so we show both workings. One side's own statement is that side's position — never proof.
Why this label: The relief sought is set out in the statement of claim as reported; the court has not ruled, and the party had not filed a response to the suit in the reporting read.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The filing figures, the vetting dates and the congress date are Graphic Online's report of the party's process; its elections committee spokesperson said anyone not filed by the deadline is considered disqualified.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
Internal party elections decide who runs Ghana's ruling party into the next general election. A court fight over whether an aspirant was locked out of the process — after paying one of the highest filing fees in the race — tests how fairly the party runs its own democracy, not just its candidate list.
Background
Show the background timeline (5)
The NDC publishes its filing fees: GH¢100,000 for Chairman, GH¢80,000 for General Secretary, plus a GH¢2,000 form fee.
Donkor says his nomination-portal login was changed without his authorisation, locking him out.
Nominations close at 17:00; Donkor is not on the list of successful nominees.
Elections director Mahdi Gibrill answers publicly, blaming Donkor's sharing of his login details.
Donkor files suit at the High Court in Accra.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — the filing and both sides' accounts are on the record; the court has not heard the case and the party's response to the suit is still to come.