A recent article published by the British newspaper The Telegraph has raised concerns about what it describes as a growing trend of “lawfare”- the use of legal systems to suppress political opponents – under the administration of Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama.
The paper suggests that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has become the most prominent target of this political-legal offensive.
The piece, written by Mat Whatley, Managing Director of Okapi Train and a security operations expert with experience in Nigeria, Libya, and other parts of Africa, was published under the headline “Why is Britain funding Ghana’s Leftist, Russia-sympathizing government?”
According to Whatley, “President John Dramani Mahama took office in January for a second non-consecutive term. Since then, Ghana has taken a far-Leftward, anti-democratic turn. Wielding lawfare against his political opponents, he has bent the law to protect his own.”
Ofori-Atta, The ‘High-Profile Target’
The most troubling aspect of Mahama’s governance, according to the Telegraph article, lies in his alleged use of state institutions to pursue political rivals. “The most high-profile attack has been against Ken Ofori-Atta, the previous administration’s former finance minister,” Whatley writes.
Describing Ofori-Atta as “a Western man” educated at Yale and Columbia universities who later worked at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers before founding his own investment bank, the writer credits him with “major economic reforms of the banking system and steering the country through the pandemic, over a period during which Ghana’s GDP per capita nearly doubled.”
However, shortly after Mahama’s return to office, the article alleges that “the state turned on Ofori-Atta.”
“Lurid accusations flew, followed by demands for his return to Ghana to face questioning. His home was raided; a special prosecutor branded him a fugitive from justice; US authorities were said to be processing an extradition request; and even an Interpol Red Notice was reportedly issued to extract him from the United States, where he was allegedly ‘hiding’,” Whatley noted.
The Telegraph writer refutes these claims, clarifying that Ofori-Atta was “in the United States receiving cancer treatment.” He adds that “no extradition request was ever made to Washington; the special prosecutor has since admitted as much. Nor were there any indictments.”
Whatley further questions whether Ghanaian authorities “misled Interpol into issuing the Red Notice, which in law can only be applied after formal charges have been brought.”
Political Motives
The British writer suggests that the alleged attacks on Ofori-Atta are politically motivated, stating:
“It seems self-evident these attacks are underway because Ghana’s current leadership perceives Ofori-Atta – a man possessing presidential bearing – as a potential serious challenger at the next election, should he go down that path.”
He argues that such actions “raise questions about whether the rule of law is still functioning in Ghana and whether international businesses can still rely on the legal security of their investments.”
Ofori-Atta/ OSP Background
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), in a letter dated Tuesday, 31 January 2025, invited Ken Ofori-Atta to attend an in-person meeting at the OSP’s office on Monday, 10 February 2025. The letter was left at the security post of Ofori-Atta’s residence in Labone, Accra.
Ofori-Atta’s absence from Ghana and inability to honour the Special Prosecutor’s invitation on health grounds caused his lawyers, Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline & Partners, to write to the OSP on 7 February 2025 to inform him of his absence and to convey his willingness to assist the ongoing investigations with any information they may require.
The OSP, through Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng, on Tuesday, 12 February 2025, two days after the date of its invitation to Ken Ofori-Atta had expired, addressed a press conference and declared Ken Ofori-Atta a “fugitive from justice”. The OSP further labelled Ofori-Atta a “wanted person” and published the same on its website on 13 February 2025.
The OSP took this route because the correspondence he received from the lawyers acting for and on behalf of Ken Ofori-Atta did not provide him with definite timelines for Ofori-Atta’s return to Ghana, he said. The OSP also declared that Ofori-Atta was not willing to return to Ghana to face justice.
Through the exchange of further letters between Ofori-Atta’s lawyers and the OSP, the “Wanted Person” and “Fugitive from Justice” tags were removed on Tuesday, 18 February 2025. On the same day, the OSP also announced that it had revised the date for its in-person meeting with Ofori-Atta to Monday, 2 June 2025.
