Malik Basintale, the Deputy National Communications Officer of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), has defended Sammy Gyamfi over the controversy surrounding his gifting of some cash to controversial religious figure, Nana Agradaa.
Basintale says whereas it is not a crime to possess dollars in the country, it is also not against any law to give someone a gift, citing reasons to buttress his assertion.
According to him, there is no law in Ghana’s constitution that bars one from owning dollars, which is why he can’t fathom why people are making a fuss over the development.
Speaking on TV3’s BigIssue on NewDay Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Basintale, who is also the Chief Executive of the Youth Employment Authority (YEA), questioned whether Mr. Gyamfi breached any law by giving someone a gift.
“Is it a crime to give someone a gift? There is no law in this country that criminalises offering a gift,” he stated, outlining the modalities guiding the acceptance of gifts by public officers.
“In fact, even if you’re a public officer, once a gift is given to you, there are steps you take to ratify this gift and those steps were done in recent past where H.E the President declared the gifts that he was given and handed them to the state,” he explained.
On whether it is a crime to possess dollars or not in the country, Basintale said, “there is no law in this country that criminalises the possession of dollars,” explaining that “it is even more of a crime taking a lot of Ghana cedis out of this country than taking dollars out of this country.”
He explained further that the fact there are forex bureaus in the country, as permitted by law, does not make it illegal for dollars to be possessed in the country.
Meanwhile, Basintale has explained that the fact that Sammy has apologised does not mean he is at fault, but because of the morality surrounding the entire issue, given his background as an African, where it is expected that a child apologises even when not at fault, even before explaining oneself.
“As a young man from the northern part of this country, I won’t fault Sammy Gyamfi for even apologising and the reason is that, per my training, whether you’re right or wrong, when there is an uproar on morality, whether you’re right or wrong, you need to apologise even before you explain yourself,” he stated.
Basintale’s comments come on the back of the Minority in Parliament’s call for Mr. Gyamfi to be dismissed or suspended for gifting some cash to Nana Agradaa, a fetish priestess-turned-evangelist who clung to him and demanded money for fuel after they met at a funeral.
According to Agradaa, Sammy gave her US$800, which has sparked public outrage, especially after President Mahama launched a Code of Conduct for Public Officials a few days earlier, detailing how public officials should conduct themselves to avoid creating public disaffection.
Critics have pointed to the video as potentially undermining the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, which emphasizes integrity, accountability, and transparency in public service.
Many party faithful have been outraged after the incident, not over the gesture per se, but the person involved, who is a controversial religious figure claiming to be an evangelist after being previously arrested for defrauding many as a fetish priestess.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gyamfi was summoned to the Jubilee House by the Chief of Staff on Monday, May 12, 2025, following the incident, to explain the circumstances surrounding the controversial gift that has sparked criticism and raised concerns over the conduct of public officials.
Agradaa gift saga: ‘I won’t fault Sammy Gyamfi for apologising’ – Basintale
