Professor Ransford Gyampo has questioned whether the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has made any attempt to verify former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s claims of receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic in the United States.
His remarks come amid a widening dispute between the OSP and Ofori-Atta over the latter’s absence from scheduled interrogations.
“Has the OSP gone to where Mr. Ofori-Atta is and he is not there?” Prof Gyampo asked on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, June 21.
His comments followed suggestions by Dr. Joshua Zaato, another panelist on the programme, who said that state security could investigate the matter independently. “National Security can go to Mayo Clinic to find out if he is there,” Dr Zaato proposed, emphasizing that the state had ways to verify Ofori-Atta’s location, including through passport tracking. “OSP should track Ofori-Atta with the location provided,” he insisted.
The controversy has intensified after the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, declared Ken Ofori-Atta wanted on June 2, accusing him of failing to honour a scheduled appearance before the OSP.
At a press briefing, Agyebeng said, “It is three hours past the agreed time for Ken Ofori-Atta to attend upon the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
He has failed to do so. In view of this, as stated before, I have directed that he should be placed on the wanted list again.” He added, “Illness is not a shield from accountability—unless certified as incapacitating.”
In response, Angela Ofori-Atta, wife of the former Finance Minister, defended her husband, dismissing the claim that he was evading accountability. “The Ken that we all know does not run away from accountability,” she said in a radio interview on June 16. “This is not a Ken who runs away from accountability. I ask the public to remember that he hasn’t shied away from facing up to issues.”
She also revealed that Ofori-Atta has been undergoing cancer treatment and that the family had made a deliberate decision to prioritize his recovery. “If I have to make the choice, I will make it again. I don’t know a wife or family who will send a loved one to respond to a Special Prosecutor when they are battling cancer,” she said.
Mrs. Ofori-Atta further claimed that her husband had offered to speak via video call, and through his lawyers, share any information requested by the OSP. “Even through these stressful times, he has always said, let me respond to you by video… He has also said whatever questions you have, you can ask my lawyers, and we will respond,” she stated.
The former Finance Minister is under investigation in five separate high-profile cases tied to his time in office. These include procurement processes involving the National Cathedral, a health ministry ambulance deal, and financial arrangements linked to the Ghana Revenue Authority. The OSP’s efforts to question him have so far been delayed, triggering public concern and legal debate.
As questions mount over his whereabouts and health status, Prof. Gyampo’s suggestion that the OSP independently verify Ofori-Atta’s presence at the Mayo Clinic adds a new dimension to the ongoing saga. The tension between the pursuit of accountability and the rights of an ailing public official continues to generate intense national scrutiny.
