Former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has criticized the recent decision by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to declare former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta a fugitive.
The OSP charged Ken Ofori-Atta with four high-profile cases, including the controversial $54 million National Cathedral project and the Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML) case.
Mr. Dame clarified that the former Finance Minister was out of the country well before the OSP’s declaration, countering claims that he fled to evade state scrutiny. “Mr. Ken Ofori Atta was out of the jurisdiction. And indeed he was out of the jurisdiction since January 3 or 4 and he went out of the jurisdiction before the OSP started requesting the attendance of Mr. Ken Ofori Atta. So it is not as if there was a request for the attendance from the office of the OSP and then Mr. Ken Ofori Atta dropped out of the jurisdiction. He left the country three clear weeks before the request of the OSP was made. And once it was made it was not ignored Ken Ofori-Atta responded and stated through his lawyers that he was out of the jurisdiction.” he stated.
The former Attorney General described the OSP’s actions as extreme, suggesting there were alternative ways to handle the situation. So I find the actions of the OSP with the greatest respects, a bit unnecessary and I felt that it could be avoided, “
