Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo must answer for the alleged financial misconduct that occurred under his administration, including actions linked to former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, political commentator Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy has said.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Dr Kennedy said many of the transactions and contracts now under investigation did not happen in isolation and could not have occurred without the awareness or tacit approval of the former president.
“If we are talking about the sins of Ken Ofori-Atta, he was reporting to somebody,” he said. “At some point, we need to be asking the former president questions about what he was doing while his ministers were looting our coffers dry. He has a moral responsibility to address these things.”
‘It is not a lost cause’
Dr Kennedy rejected suggestions that the corruption case involving the former finance minister is futile because he is currently outside the country.
“The idea that it is a lost cause — it is not a lost cause,” he insisted. “Even if he is not in Ghana, there can be a trial. There can be a verdict of guilt or innocence. And even if he doesn’t spend a day in jail, the fact that he finds it necessary to avoid going back home brings shame and hopefully has a deterrent effect.”
He noted that Mr Ofori-Atta previously faced a red notice that restricted his movements, though it has since been suspended after he filed applications to overturn it.
OSP charges and political implications
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has announced that Mr Ofori-Atta and seven others will appear in court on 24 November to face a 78-count indictment. The charges cover alleged corruption, procurement breaches and collusion in dealings involving Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
The OSP alleges the actions led to the improper disbursement of more than GHS 1.4 billion in public funds through contracts deemed not to meet procurement standards.
Others charged include former GRA officials Emmanuel Kofi Nti, Rev Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Isaac Crentsil and Kwadwo Damoah, former Chef de Cabinet Ernest Darko Akore, SML CEO Evans Adusei and SML itself.
Ofori-Atta’s lawyers say he has not yet been formally served with a criminal summons and argue that proving 78 charges beyond a reasonable doubt will be “a considerable hurdle”.
‘As long as Akufo-Addo remained in power, he was untouchable’
Dr Kennedy said the Ofori-Atta case has revived concerns about the partisan nature of Ghana’s justice system.
“It would seem that as long as the Nana Akufo-Addo government remained in power, Ken Ofori-Atta was untouchable — and so were quite a lot of other people,” he said. “This is a very telling indictment of our judicial system.”
He argued that alleged questionable contracts, syndicated loans and the SML agreement “did not happen overnight” but unfolded “in slow motion”, with Parliament and the executive failing to act.
Attacks on the Special Prosecutor
Dr Kennedy also addressed mounting criticism of the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, including calls for demonstrations over claims he failed to prevent Mr Ofori-Atta from leaving the country in January.
He said while some concerns may have merit, the country must strengthen institutions such as the OSP so they can function without political interference — regardless of which government is in power.
‘We practise rotating one-party dictatorships’
Dr Kennedy warned that Ghana risks perpetuating a cycle in which incumbent governments operate without scrutiny, only for wrongdoing to be exposed after they leave office.
“We seem to be practising serial one-party dictatorships that last for eight-year terms,” he said. “Then once that is over, the other party comes and they make noise about how shocked they are at what happened.”
He said Ghana must begin preventing corruption and abuse before they occur, rather than “waiting for them to happen and then engaging in futile exercises to exact punishment”.
Failures of law enforcement and public accountability
Dr Kennedy also criticised what he described as chronic failures in law enforcement, referencing a domestic violence case in which a woman reportedly made several complaints to police that were ignored until she was nearly killed.
“That police station should be collapsed by this morning,” he said. “If nobody at either Ankaful or Tesano is punished, I will be very disappointed.”
On the deadly stampede during the Ghana Armed Forces recruitment exercise at El-Wak Stadium, he said the tragedy was “predictable incompetence”.
“You invite over 21,000 people to a stadium built for 7,000, on the same day, at the same hour, with only six desks. What do you expect? And yet everyone is fine — having waakye this morning as if nothing happened.”
Call for a justice system beyond incumbency
Dr Kennedy urged Ghana to adopt systems similar to the special counsel model in the United States, where independent prosecutors can investigate even sitting presidents.
“We need to move away from this system where being an incumbent seems to insulate you from judicial processes,” he said. “Independent bodies must be able to act regardless of who is in power.”
