Listening to the NDC government’s rhetoric on Ken Ofori-Atta and the involvement of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not only baffling, it is laughable.
On one hand, the government insists that Mr. Ofori-Atta must physically return to Ghana to “answer questions.”
On the other hand, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is before a criminal court seeking permission to conduct proceedings involving him electronically under Section 25. These contradictory positions expose a persecution strategy at cross-purposes, deliberately crafted to mislead the Ghanaian public.
Equally troubling is Attorney-General Dominic Ayine’s recent assurance that Ken Ofori-Atta will not be treated “shabbily” upon his return. That promise must be treated with the utmost circumspection.
Was Ken Ofori-Atta not treated shabbily when his home was raided by Richard Jakpa without a warrant? Did the Attorney-General intervene? What became of the formal report to the National Investigations Bureau or the petition to the Chief Justice?
Was he not treated shabbily when the OSP dismissed that unlawful raid as “staged”? Did the Attorney-General challenge that reckless claim?
Was he not treated shabbily when his prostate cancer diagnosis was trivialised—treated as though he had caught a common cold? That episode marked the height of cruelty. Indeed, the Attorney-General went so far as to state publicly that prostate cancer is treated in Ghana, mocking a man’s fundamental right to make personal medical decisions. Did the Attorney-General pause to consider the cruelty of such remarks, especially when he was well aware that the Speaker of Parliament had chosen to seek treatment abroad for the same condition?
Was Ken Ofori-Atta not treated shabbily when a Red Notice alert was issued without a proper warrant from a Circuit Court Judge and without any supporting sworn statement? Did the Attorney-General question the legality of the OSP’s actions? The eventual lifting of the Red Notice stands as incontrovertible proof that political persecution—not justice—was at play, and that it failed spectacularly.
Was he not treated shabbily when his own country reportedly invited ICE to arrest and detain him, a fact Attorney-General Ayine gleefully boasted about, only for the government to feign concern the next moment by offering consular assistance?
Taken together, these episodes reveal a consistent pattern of shabby treatment. They confirm that what we have witnessed over the past year is not accidental excess, but a deliberate policy of persecution by the NDC government against Ken Ofori-Atta—entirely inconsistent with their recent “soft-spoken” claims of fidelity to the rule of law.
It bears recalling that Ghanaians watched helplessly as this same government orchestrated the removal of a Chief Justice under dubious and deeply troubling circumstances. If the head of Ghana’s Judiciary—a woman entrusted with upholding justice—could not secure a fair hearing, what hope does a former Minister of Finance and investment banker realistically have?
The NDC government cannot, in one breath, deploy rhetoric that screams political persecution and, in the next, pretend it is preparing a gentlemanly welcome for Ken Ofori-Atta—one akin to what he would receive if he were visiting the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori-Panyin, in Kyebi.
The government and its surrogates have overplayed their hand. Having spent months deploying harsh, vindictive rhetoric, they cannot now expect the public to believe their sudden rediscovery of the rule of law. This charade resembles a ping-pong match between Kissi and Ayine—confusion masquerading as governance.
By their deeds shall they be known. It is far too late to pretend otherwise.
– G. A. Agbesinyale
