Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has taken issue with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) over what he describes as misleading financial claims relating to the cancellation of the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) contract, insisting that the facts have now vindicated him.
In a post shared on social media titled “A Lie Exposed and Laid to Rest,” Manasseh said the total value of the consolidated SML contract had always been “a little over $500 million,” and not the $2.7 billion figure initially cited by the OSP. “By the time the OSP completed its report, two of the contracts had been terminated,” he stated, noting that both the External Price Verification and Transaction Audit contracts were cancelled in 2024 following the KPMG report.
He added that the Upstream and Minerals sector components had also been suspended since 2023 “because of our story,” leaving only the Downstream Petroleum contract active at the time the OSP concluded its review. According to him, that contract had already run two out of its five years and had been renegotiated to $1.6 million per month.
Manasseh questioned how the OSP justified its claim that President Mahama’s cancellation of the SML contract had saved the state $2.7 billion. “Even with the $500 million, the OSP came in when part of the deal was already cancelled and suspended, so where did the office get its $2.7 billion from?” he asked.
He said that when he confronted Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng by phone, “he claimed that the $2.7 billion was found in the PPA approval letter.” He explained that his first public challenge came after OSP official Sammy Darko “without any provocation, claimed that our investigation had unearthed $100 million, but the OSP’s probe unearthed $2.7 billion.”
Manasseh said he had reviewed the PPA approval letter himself and found “nothing close to the $2.7 billion.” He stated that both the lead investigator on the SML probe and Sammy Darko had acknowledged that the correct figure was over $500 million, adding that Agyebeng “thought differently because of his criminal law interpretation.”
He noted that Darko later confirmed his position publicly. “After attacking me for stating the right figure, Sammy Darko admitted on Newsfile yesterday that he agreed with my figure,” Manasseh said.
According to him, the OSP has now updated its own figure to match what he has insisted all along. “The good news is that the OSP has now revised the figure from $2.7 billion to $514 million,” he wrote, pointing to the office’s Facebook post that cited GH¢5.7 billion — the cedi equivalent of $514 million.
Manasseh criticised the OSP for previously accusing him of “trying to try the case in public” when he published the PPA letter and asked the office to release the document it relied on. “This is the office that has engaged in the public trial of Mustapha Hamid and the NPA case,” he said.
He ended by stressing that the accuracy of figures is crucial for any successful prosecution. “The people must know the truth,” he wrote. “Such bloated figures will make the OSP look good in the public’s eyes, but such lies will crumble in court and destroy the case.”
