Ken Ofori-Atta has been in a US ICE detention facility since the start of January 2026
Very reliable sources close to The Inquirer, including diplomatic and immigration sources say Ken Ofori-Atta, former Minister of Finance in the erstwhile Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, insist that the finance minister will not voluntarily come to Ghana unless the Supreme Court or Executive give public and diplomatic assurances that he will be protected from the canker of any public opinion trials that may feed into kangaroo trial.
Several sources to the paper were reacting to a recent TV interview NPP strategist Gabby Otchere-Darko granted the media and particularly GHOne TV days ago.
According to Gabby, an Accra lawyer and publisher but also a family source, Ken will certainly come to Ghana and do so voluntarily.
But The Inquirer’s checks reveal that even if Donald Trump flusters by Executive fiat a directive to repatriate Ken, the court system will be there to look at issues of African politics and constitutional rights as well as asylum conventions.
Ken Ofori-Atta is currently in an immigration detention camp over alleged inconsistency in immigration application.
But the government of Ghana, through the Attorney General, has filed an extradition request for Ken to be hauled down to Ghana as a fugitive avoiding lawful trial.
Attorney General, Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has affirmed in press briefings that there really is an extradition request filed by the government against Ken Ofori-Atta.
One source, who has worked in Ghana as a food security researcher, said by his understanding of the US jurisprudence, Ken is patently ill to be forced into a trial.
She added that while the immigration allegation is still triable, by the circumstances of his health condition, he cannot be forced back to Ghana to face a perceived hostile system.
Another source, who worked with the US Marines and is back on retirement, said extradition is lawful to the extent that Ken can be tried in absentia, despite arguments by a segment of the political class that he held a top-notch public office and should there be patently and tangibly accountable as in physical access.
Yet a third source, reacting, said Ghana’s elections and vibes out there about threats of political tweaks, including the sack of a Chief Justice and petitions to sack the Electoral Commissioner, is under careful and discreet study by global human rights and democracy institutions and watchers, and may factor into extradition conversations and decisions.
The newspaper’s reliable sources even believe a hefty fine may be allowable in the light of his condition, together with a caution statement, aside other non-extradition punitive measures, including imprisonment.
“So, it is beyond Trump or extradition pact; but it is also beyond allegations of corruption that has to be proven, including money-laundering and corruption, which are both international crimes requiring international conventions, pacts and agreements,” a diplomat friend told The Inquirer.
“Together, this will be a long, winding legal battle, and that may take some time,” our researcher told The Inquirer.
“Yes, Gabby may be right, but question will be whether the accused may be willing to come back…In that case, he may still have rights under the US system, another source intoned.
The Inquirer also believes that on account of the psychological, emotional and mental stresses the former leading appointee has endured, nobody will advise him to return to Ghana unless he is willing to do so at his peril.
