Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah, a Deputy National Communications Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), has jumped to the defence of the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, over criticisms surrounding a cash gift he gave to self-styled evangelist Agradaa.
This follows a viral video that captured Sammy Gyamfi handing an undisclosed amount of money to the former fetish priestess.
The incident has sparked widespread backlash, including members within his own party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), where he serves as National Communications Officer.
The backlash forced Gyamfi to issue an unqualified apology on Sunday, May 11, describing the gesture as “unfortunate” and “regrettable.”
Despite the apology, anti-corruption advocates and some members of the public, including the Minority caucus in Parliament, have called for his suspension.
But speaking in an interview on pro-NPP network NET2 TV, Owusu Bempah said no one has the moral right including the Minority NPP to criticise Sammy Gyamfi, especially when he can afford the amount he gave.
He claimed that some appointees in the past NPP administration used to splash as much as $50,000 on women behind the scenes, yet they were never vilified.
“We know people in the NPP who spray $50,000 on ladies behind the scenes. He who comes with equity must come with clean hands. The noise about Sammy Gyamfi’s gift is dead on arrival. No one has the moral right to criticize him over this matter.
“If anyone has evidence that he has stolen money, they should bring it forward for the Special Prosecutor to take it up,” he said.
The NPP spokesperson added, “How much is $10,000 that Sammy Gyamfi can’t afford? There’s nothing wrong with what he did. If, for instance, there were €50,000 missing from the GoldBod account and he was seen distributing cash, that would be a legitimate cause for concern. But in the absence of empirical evidence, this is just jealousy.”
