The Fourth Estate
The Fourth Estate Podcast takes you beyond the headlines of Ghana’s most impactful investigative journalism.
Produced by The Fourth Estate, a non-profit public interest project of the Media Foundation for West Africa, the podcast opens up the reporting that has triggered investigations, prosecutions and difficult national conversations about power, accountability and justice. With a strong focus on corruption, governance, the environment, health and human rights, each episode deepens public understanding of issues that directly affect people’s lives.
This is where listeners hear the full story. We go behind the scenes with the journalists who broke major investigations, speak to sources who entrusted us with their experiences, and revisit stories that continue to shape public policy and democratic accountability in Ghana.
The Fourth Estate Podcast offers a new way to engage with rigorous, independent journalism, thoughtfully reported and carefully explained, wherever you get your podcasts.
Episodes
10 episodes
Dead or alive: How non-payment of allowances is threatening the push to keep Ghana clean
When the local government ministry started the sanitation guards initiative in 2007, the goal was clear - to help make Ghana cleaner. But as laudable as the idea is, a lot of the guards who have been recruited over the years have d...
Why Ghana's Asset Declaration law is not fighting graft as intended
Article 286 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana requires public office holders to declare their assets and liabilities before they assume office. They are also required to do same at the end of every four years and at the end of their term of off...
'Medical Kalabule' probe: What the Committee missed
Shortly after the Fourth Estate released its documentary 'Medical Kalabule', the Health Minister formed a committee to investigate allegations made in the documentary. The committee's report indicted only one of the medical professionals named ...
Sole-Sourcing for Big Push: The Gulf Between Promise and Delivery
Right at the start of his second term in office, President John Mahama pledged to eliminate sole-sourcing, suggesting a push for new legislation to end the practice of awarding public contracts without competitive bidding. It was a bold promise...
Joojo Cobbinah and Edmund Boateng on investigating suspected killings in Ghana's Police custody
Typically, when someone dies under mysterious circumstances, the police launch an investigation to ascertain if it was a murder or accidental. But what happens when a person dies under questionable circumstances while in police detention?
Death in Detention: Suspected Killings in Ghana's Police Custody
Investigations by The Fourth Estate revealed that over a five-year period, at least 19 people died while being detained by the Ghana Police Service. Four of those deaths, according to the police, were suicides. But families of the deceased susp...
Joojo Cobbinah on investigating 'Medical Kalabule'
When the documentary, Medical Kalabule, was released earlier this month, it exposed the desperation and lengths some critically ill patients and their families were willing to go for care. While a committee set up by the Ministry o...
Medical Kalabule: Doctors preying on helpless patients in Ghanaian hospitals
Some doctors in Ghana entrusted with saving lives have instead been preying on patients in desperate need of urgent, life-saving surgeries.In a health system already stretched by staff shortages, limited infrastructure and chronic equipment...
The thinking behind Ghana’s most innovative and impactful investigative newsroom
In just about five short years, The Fourth Estate has produced investigations that have dominated national conversations and triggered real-world consequences, from prosecutions to policy reviews. But how did this project begin, and why does it...
Introducing The Fourth Estate Podcast
The Fourth Estate Podcast takes Ghana’s most impactful investigations beyond the written page.In just a few years, The Fourth Estate has broken stories that sparked official investigations, triggered prosecutions and forced hard national...