In a scathing critique, former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has accused the current Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), led by Kissi Agyebeng, of politicised law enforcement and opportunism, following its recent pursuit of Ken Ofori-Atta.
Amidu alleged that the OSP’s renewed interest in Ofori-Atta, long after his departure from government, is part of a strategy to win the new administration’s favour and secure continued funding.
He wrote, “The Special Prosecutor, William Kissi Agyebeng, informed Parliament on oath during his vetting for approval for office that he was going to investigate the Agyapa Royalty Transaction Report authored by the OSP on 15 October 2020 before his assumption of office on 9 August 2021.”
“This undertaking on oath to the Parliament and People of Ghana was never carried out by the OSP under the watch of Kissi Agyebeng,” Amidu continued, suggesting that the failure to investigate the Agyapa deal was politically convenient for the then-incumbent government, of which Ofori-Atta was a central figure.
Amidu claimed that Ofori-Atta was never summoned during his time in office despite allegations of corruption and financial misconduct.
“Ken Ofori-Atta was never invited to assist the investigations of all the alleged corruption and corruption-related offences the OSP summoned him to appear before it as a suspect until 24 January 2025,” he said, “when there had been a change in government on 7 January 2025 and Ken Ofori-Atta could be of little assistance financially for the budgetary allocation of the OSP for its continued wanton dissipation without positive anti-corruption results.”
He argued that the move to label Ofori-Atta a suspect was a deliberate media strategy to tarnish his image and create a presumption of guilt.
“This ruse of inviting Ken Ofori-Atta as a suspect presumed innocent to make statements to the OSP was as usual played out in the media to dehumanize and create in the public mind a prejudicial presumption of guilt,” Amidu said.
With the change in government and the exit of the President who appointed Agyebeng, Amidu believes the OSP is now realigning its priorities for self-preservation.
“With Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor’s appointing President out of office, he was simply leading the OSP to ingratiate itself into the favours of the new government for more budgetary allocations to be dissipated at the taxpayer’s expense as usual,” Amidu concluded.
