Presidential staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah has urged the state, through the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), not to allow former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to use ill health as an excuse to delay his return to Ghana for questioning by the OSP.
It has emerged that the former finance minister is currently seeking medical treatment in the United States after being declared a suspect by the OSP in four high-profile corruption investigations. These include cases related to the National Cathedral project, Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML), and two other matters.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, February 12, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng stated that Ofori-Atta is now a wanted person and must return to Ghana immediately to face questioning. He warned that failure to comply would result in steps being taken to compel his return.
The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has confirmed that Ofori-Atta will return to Ghana after completing his medical treatment abroad. Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, February 13, Afenyo-Markin stated that he had been in touch with the former minister, who assured him of his willingness to cooperate with any investigations upon his return.
However, commenting on the issue in an interview on Onua FM, Nana Yaa Jantuah insisted that Ofori-Atta must not be allowed to use his ill health as an excuse to delay the process, as other politicians who were equally unwell were prosecuted and jailed under the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
“I believe we have an extradition treaty with the US, so Ken Ofori-Atta can be brought back to Ghana because we have hospitals here that can take care of him. I remember Victor Selormey, a deputy finance minister under the Rawlings regime, was holding an oxygen tank in Nsawam Prison. I witnessed this—he was not feeling well at all. Throughout his court sessions, he was sick, yet he was not granted any consideration due to his ill health. Eventually, he died.”
“I was at the Cardio Unit when lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata was brought there suffering from an asthma attack. When a recommendation was made for his release due to his ill health, instead, that same night, he was sent back to prison. So, if Ken has to answer questions, he must do so. I know of someone who was not sick but was locked up in the BNI cells in 2017. It is someone’s health condition, so I won’t mention the name, but this person was detained without any access to medical care. So, wherever Ken is, he should return and answer the questions,” Nana Yaa Jantuah, a former Director of Public Relations and External Affairs at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), stated.
