Ken don’t come to Ghana – Vice President of IMANI Africa

Kofi Bentil, Vice President of IMANI Africa, has advised former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta not to come back to Ghana as legal tensions with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) get worse.

On JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, June 7, Bentil shared his worries about how the case is being handled. He suggested that Ofori-Atta should allow the legal process to go on without him being present.

“If I had the right to advise Ken, I will tell him, don’t come to Ghana. Let them try you in absentia and do whatever they will do, and we will take it from there,” Bentil stated.

Bentil also criticized the OSP’s move to declare Ofori-Atta wanted, saying it goes beyond what the constitution allows. He said it is not right to declare someone wanted just because they did not submit to an investigation.

Ofori-Atta was declared wanted on June 2 after he failed to appear before the OSP, saying he was receiving medical treatment abroad. His lawyers provided medical papers showing he is fighting cancer and needs surgery, but the OSP rejected this excuse. The OSP then asked INTERPOL to issue a Red Notice for his arrest.

On June 5, INTERPOL officially put Ofori-Atta on its Red Notice list. The notice describes him as a 65-year-old Ghanaian man born on November 7, 1959, in Accra. It also includes his physical details and the languages he speaks.

Ofori-Atta faces charges for allegedly misusing $58 million of public money meant for a national cathedral project that never happened. This case is part of a bigger anti-corruption effort started by President John Mahama, which aims to recover $20 billion of supposedly stolen government funds.

Ofori-Atta’s lawyers have called the declaration that he is a fugitive unfair and have said before that he is sick, needing surgery that has delayed his return to Ghana. His current location is still unknown.