Activist Petitions President to Revoke Appointment of Professor Accused in Sex for Grades Scandal

A Ghanaian women and children right activitist, Perpetual L. Akwada, has formally petitioned the President of the Republic, calling for the revocation of the appointment of Professor Ransford Edward van Gyampo as Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority.

In a petition addressed to the President, the petitioner argued that the appointment undermines national efforts to protect women and girls and weakens the moral integrity of public office.

Ms. Akwada said she has witnessed deliberate state interventions over the years “aimed at making Ghana a haven for the girl-child and women, notably the passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121).”

However, she contended that recent developments have eroded confidence in those gains. According to her, “the appointment of Professor Ransford Edward van Gyampo as Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority suggests an evident decline in national efforts to protect the girl-child and women generally in Ghana.”

The petition made reference to Prof. Gyampo’s involvement in the BBC’s Sex for Grades documentary, stating that he “was implicated in the sexual harassment of female students at the University of Ghana.” The petitioner asserted that “his appointment to a position of national leadership undermines both the moral integrity of public office and the safety of women and girls in Ghana.”

She further argued that the decision sends a troubling signal to victims of abuse. “With the prevalence of sexually-related violence against women in schools and the workplace, Prof. Gyampo’s appointment sends an unwelcome but clear signal to women that we are condoning a society that pays little concern to victims of sexual abuse but rewards powerful, abusive men with more power and influence,” the petition reads.

Data on sexual violence

The petitioner outlined statistics to situate her concerns within broader national trends.

Quoting the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), the petition noted that “14.1% of women aged 15-49 have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, with 6% facing it in the 12 months preceding the survey.”

It further cited data from the Ghana Statistical Service (November 2025), indicating that “among women aged 18 to 29 who report forced sex, 81.9% experienced their first incident before age 18.” The petition also highlighted regional disparities, stating that “district-level estimates (2025) show that the Volta Region has the highest prevalence at 22.3%,” while police data for 2025 recorded 10,433 sexual assault cases across Greater Accra, Central, and Ashanti Regions alone.

The petitioner argued that underreporting remains a major challenge, stressing that “victims of this pervasive culture face cultural stigma, fear of retaliation, and lack of institutional trust, leading to widespread underreporting of sexual violence.”

Dangerous signal

Ms. Akwada stated that appointing “a person publicly associated with sexual harassment allegations to a position of influence sends a harmful signal to the vulnerable that in Ghana, power shields misconduct.”

She warned that such appointments “discourage reporting, embolden abusers, and undermine years of progress toward gender equality and safe schools and workplaces.”

According to the petition, “Ghana has worked hard to assure women that their dignity matters and that abuse will not be tolerated. This appointment reverses those gains and risks normalising impunity.”

Moral leadership

The petitioner also framed her appeal in moral and national terms, addressing the President “as President and as a father,” and stating that she is certain he “would not wish your daughter or any Ghanaian woman to work or study under leadership associated with such conduct or signals that sexual violence is tolerable.”

She further pointed to ethical contradiction, noting that Ghana “boasts of our very first female Vice President,” who has been “an embodiment of hope and courage to many women.” The appointment, she argues, “places the Vice President, herself a woman, in a difficult moral position and risks disappointing the many women who supported the government, believing their voices and safety would be prioritised.”

Demands

The petitioner makes a direct appeal to the President “to: Revoke the appointment of Professor Ransford Edward van Gyampo as CEO of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority.”

She also called on the government to affirm that individuals associated with sexual harassment or abuse are not eligible for high public office, to reaffirm Ghana’s commitment to protecting women and girls from abuse and exploitation, and to revise the Code of Conduct, 2025, to include an explicit prohibition against sexual harassment by public officials.

Ms. Akwada further described the moment as critical for the country’s moral direction, stating: “We must demonstrate to the citizenry that public office is and must remain a refuge for integrity and not a citadel for misconduct.”

She urged the President “to act decisively and affirm that abuse of power will never be rewarded in our Republic.”