Ghana MP Questions Special Prosecutor’s Consistency in High-Profile Probes

Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour-Awuah has challenged the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) over perceived inconsistencies in handling prominent investigations, citing contrasting approaches in the Airbus bribery case and current probe involving former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

The legislator referenced the OSP’s August 2024 Report of Investigation into Alleged Bribery of Ghanaian Officials by Airbus SE, noting investigators traveled internationally to interview Samuel Adam Foster (alias Samuel Mahama) and three others abroad with legal counsel present after failed diplomatic efforts to secure their return. “On its own, the OSP had to interview Samuel Adam Foster & 3 others outside Ghana in the presence of their counsel… after unsuccessful attempts of getting Samuel Mahama back,” Baffour-Awuah stated, directly quoting the report. He pressed: “How is this difficult or different in the case of Ken Ofori-Atta?”

The query arises amid an escalating standoff between the OSP and Ofori-Atta, who faces corruption investigations abroad for medical treatment. The OSP has initiated extradition procedures despite public knowledge of his location and stated intent to return post-treatment. Civil society groups and legal analysts increasingly scrutinize whether the prosecutor’s office applies laws uniformly across political affiliations.

This challenge emerges against the OSP’s mandate to investigate corruption independently since its 2018 establishment, with institutional credibility becoming pivotal as Ghana contends with high-stakes graft cases involving political elites.