Ken In ICE Custody: No Special treatment for him under Ghanaian law – Felix Kwakye Ofosu
The Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has maintained that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta cannot be given special treatment under Ghanaian law.
According to him, Ghana’s justice system is governed by due process and applies equally to all citizens, regardless of status or past office.
During an appearance on Joy News’ AM Show on Monday, January 26, Kwakye Ofosu argued that Ofri-Atta’s reported concerns about how he may be treated cannot justify “any deviation from standard legal procedure.”
“Let nobody say that Mr. Ofori-Atta should be treated specially because he has concerns about how he will be treated,” he said. “As far as I know, Ghana is not a banana republic. We don’t throw people into jail without recourse to due process.”
Kwakye Ofosu outlined what he described as the straightforward legal pathway facing Ofori-Atta if he is extradited to Ghana, stating that he will be arrested, questioned, formally charged and taken to court, if authorities believe there is enough evidence to support the state’s case.
“What will happen is that he will be arrested. He will be interrogated like everybody, if they find that there’s basis, he will be charged and taken to court,” he explained.
“Is he suggesting that the moment he comes here, we will throw him into jail without taking him to court?” he asked. “That is not what will happen.”
A central part of Kwakye Ofosu’s argument rested on
The Minister compared Ofori-Atta’s case to previous cases involving public officials who, according to him, endured legal proceedings under “difficult personal circumstances” during Ofori-Atta’s time as Finance Minister.
“There was a gentleman Gregory Afoko who under the government that Ken Ofori-Atta served had been granted bail by a court yet he was kept in custody for several years… I think in total he was in custody for 10 years despite having been granted bail by a court,” he said, “He is human, is he not?”
“There was this former Health Ministry Chief Director who had severe kidney failure. He had hearing impairment. He had visual impairment. He could not walk. So he was in a wheelchair, but he travelled repeatedly to court and waited hours for his case to be called. If somebody who suffered these severe ailments was put before trial by the government that Ken Ofori-Atta was part of, why is he seeking special treatment?” he asked. “Is he more human than Dr. Sylvester?”
Pointing to some senior public figures who have been targets of investigations before, Felix Kwakye Ofosu emphasized that the laws of Ghana do not insulate public officials from due process regardless of past office.
“President Mahama when he left office was a subject of investigation by the special prosecutor, he was invited and he obliged,” he said. “President Rawlings was invited for questioning. He subjected himself to that process…So if former presidents can subject themselves to investigative processes, why is a former finance minister seeking to exalt himself above the laws of Ghana to evade justice?”
On the chances of a potential extradition, the Minister for Government Communications indicated that the process typically requires long documentation processes, and also depends on whether authorities can “demonstrate merit to the reviewing court.”
“You may have read that the judge hearing the case now requested for evidence of the extradition request,” he said. “And that will come with detailed documentation on what the issues are and why he is wanted.”
“If it goes through and he’s extradited, he will go through the same process that everybody else has gone through when they have been accused of wrongdoing,” he emphasized.
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