What do you do when corruption floods a country’s political system?

Haggai leader Gertrude Torkornoo, supervising judge of Ghana’s commercial divisions of the high court, fights back, cleansing Ghana’s judiciary of hackers and corrupt leaders.

“It was a difficult place to find oneself,” says Gertrude. “But I was calmed by the need to walk my talk.”

In the midst of Ghana’s elections for the next President and members of Parliament, hackers have been attacking the electoral commission’s website as votes for polls are counted. Neither party has been able to win over the popular vote, as Ghana’s economic troubles extend beyond 20 years. Additionally, corruption is at every corner of the political space, and Ghanaians remain skeptical of the current candidates.

“I believe it is for Ghanaians to insist on integrity in the public space,” says Gertrude, “and call on leaders to account for looting the public purse and for their election promises and insist that institutions reform and deliver on their mandates.”

Ministering to a group of market women. Gertrude (second from left) started this group as part of outreach to her local market. The meetings are on Saturday mornings.

Gertrude reports that too many institutions have been “rendered dysfunctional by politics,” and as a member of the Committee of Judges, she and two other Haggai leaders work to rid the judicial system of corruption.

But corruption seems to be ingrained in Ghanaian culture, and Gertrude says, “People find it easier to loot organizational coffers than work hard.”

Fighting against such a culture has made Gertrude a target for powerful people. She was verbally attacked and insulted by one judge who was accused of bribery. Undeterred, she hopes “to turn Christians from loving money to serving God in their careers.”

Additionally, Gertrude encourages Christians to take up leadership roles in corporations and the government so that they may “turn the tide of corruption, which creates poverty and harms the poor.”

Gertrude has trained over 2,000 youth in leadership programs and 500 women in leadership development, using the skills she learned at her Haggai Leader Experience in 2003.

Gertrude’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, and she recently received the Award for Integrity from the Ghana Women of Excellence Award Group for all her work incorporating integrity into judicial work.

Though Ghana still has a long way to go, Gertrude insists, “God remains very much on His throne, and prayer for the nation is still the key to peace, stability, and proper progress.”