(Commonwealth) More than 60 Ghanaian prosecutors, judges, and investigators underwent two rigorous Commonwealth symposiums to enhance their capacity to prosecute cybercrime cases eroding citizens, businesses, and national security. The workshops, held between October 7 and 10, 2025, were sponsored by the United Kingdom‘s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The exercise brought together the representatives of Ghana institutions of justice and security and Nigerian Federal High Court judges. The participants worked together using example cases to apply relevant national law, international mechanisms, and mutual legal assistance procedures to address cybercrime. The exercises were created for increasing technical proficiency in cybercrime investigation and prosecution with utmost efficacy.
Most of the session was dedicated to bridging the gaps in common issues encountered in the courtrooms, including establishing electronic evidence, preserving the integrity of digital information, and improving cross-border international cooperation in cybercrime hearings. It was of particular significance for Ghana, with more digital transformation having boosted economic growth as well as enhanced exposure to cyber-attacks.
Experts advocated a policy-driven strategy of protection and partnership. Creating national policy frameworks to keep pace with shifts in technology was demanded as a top priority. Building the institutional capability to collect, store, and generate electronic evidence in legal admissibility was also being debated. Government institutions, law enforcement, and private sector partnerships were the values repeated over and over again for successful warfare against cybercrime.
The Ghana Police Service also said a plan for special cybercrime courts had been submitted to the Attorney General’s office. These courts, coupled with ongoing judicial training, would enhance the tempo and level of sophistication of cybercrime prosecutions. Training judges in the application of digital forensics and technical components of cyber evidence was considered a critical component of constructing the judicial framework’s reaction to technology-enabled crime.
The attendees, both prosecutors and judges, have described the training as revolutionary, noting it helped improve assessment of electronic evidence and comprehension of how digital evidence could be manipulated. Prosecutors became more aware of the preservation of the chain of custody for digital information to enable evidence credibility and admissibility in court. This, they noted, would directly help enhance the prospects of winning convictions in cybercrime crimes.
The symposiums also built on learning from previous Commonwealth-arranged events. The Secretariat had capitalized on the reality that previous training exercises had already boosted Ghanaian judicial officers’ capacity to deal with electronic evidence by more than 50 percent. The High Court judges viewed this as a significant step towards the long-term preservation of gains in the justice system.
The Ghanaian high court judges underscored the courts’ position as the ultimate stronghold of defense against cybercrime. They stressed that the cases depended on judges’ impartiality and reading evidence electronically and interpreting technology-sensitive laws. Continuing professional development was therefore envisioned as a measure to facilitate judicial effectiveness in the wake of constantly evolving cyber threats. The Ghana Judicial Training Institute recommitted itself to equipping judges to protect citizens and administer justice in the age of technology.
The British High Commission officials in Accra underlined the call for international cooperation, with more cyberattacks on the continent, as INTERPOL reported. They advocated strong legal systems, international partnerships, and information exchange for better detection, investigation, and prosecution of cybercrime.
The public outcry regarding the initiative was massive. Ghanaians welcomed the focus on training the judges as a step towards getting justice for victims of fraud and cybercriminals. The public felt that further training of the judges would lead to faster and better convictions of the cybercriminals.
This is the third Commonwealth-hosted symposium on electronic evidence and cybercrime in Ghana since 2023. Collectively, these symposia are an essential step towards creating a justice system efficient in addressing the high-tech threats of the digital revolution era to ensure the digital economy of Ghana grows safely and inclusively.
