The Director of Strategy and Communication at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Sammy Darko, has said that his outfit wants the embattled former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to appear before them in person because it is a requirement of law.
He explained that it is a globally accepted principle of law that an accused must be tried present.
Mr Darko said this while contributing to discussions on TV3’s The KeyPoints on June 7.
Reacting to suggestions that Mr Ofori-Atta could be tried in absentia, the Director of Strategy explained that, “If you study our constitution very well, Article 19 (3) details how trial in absentia can happen and the conditions are about two- when an accused, and accused is when the person has been arrested and charged, has disruptive behaviour, such that placing him before the law will disrupt proceedings or if the person, having been charged, elects not to come to court at all.”
He cited what he called a popular case of Kwakye vs the Republic to support his stance- “The whole idea is that the person must be tried present unless that person says I don’t want to go through the trial. It is the same principle around international court processes. The International Criminal Court (ICC) for instance, why do you think they issue arrest warrant and place people on INTERPOL Wanted List.”
Touching on suggestions that the OSP should have accepted the offer by the lawyers of Mr Ofori-Atta to take his caution statement through Zoom, Mr Darko explained that caution statements cannot be taken via Zoom.
Mr Darko said, “I would like to address a little confusion in the minds of lawyers in particular. I think some lawyers are treating Mr Ofori-Atta as if he is an accused person. Which means that Mr Ofori-Atta has been arrested and charged. They will talk about why is the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) not taking advantage of the mutual legal assistance programme? Go and do video conferencing, bla- bla.”
According to Mr Darko, “OSP is aware of all these things. These things are used when a person has been arrested and charged and placed before a court. As we speak, Mr Ofori-Atta has not been arrested by any law enforcement agency. So, the suggestion that we could take Mr Ofor-Atta via zoom may not apply. Because you cannot arrest a suspect through Zoom. You cannot take a caution statement through zoom, because the only time when you can take a caution statement is when the person has been arrested, properly so called.”
The OSP has been pursuing Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta for five reasons.
Key Issues Under Investigation:
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- Petroleum and Minerals Revenue Assurance:
Contractual arrangements between Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). - Electricity Company Contract Termination:
The termination of a contract between the Electricity Company of Ghana and Beijing Xiao Cheng Technology (BXC). - National Cathedral Project:
Procurement procedures and financial transactions related to the National Cathedral. - Ambulance Procurement:
A Ministry of Health contract with Service Ghana Auto Group Limited for purchasing and maintaining 307 ambulances. - GRA Tax P-Fund Management:
Handling and disbursement of funds from the Tax P-Fund Account of the GRA.
- Petroleum and Minerals Revenue Assurance:
In January 2025, the OSP officially designated Mr. Ofori-Atta a suspect and requested his personal appearance.
Currently, Mr Ofori-Atta has been placed on INTERPOL red notice after he failed to honour a June 2 agreed meeting.
Extradition processes have also been started to return him to the country upon arrest.
READ ALSO: Five key reasons why Ken Ofori-Atta must report to OSP on June 2
