Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has cautioned former Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta not to return to Ghana to subject himself to ongoing investigations and possible prosecution against the advice of his lawyers.
In a strongly worded statement sighted by GhanaWeb, he described the ongoing investigations and possible prosecution against Ofori-Atta as a political witch-hunt, which has become nauseating to him.
He claimed that President John Dramani Mahama is using state agencies to persecute his political opponents for future electoral benefits and has chosen the former minister to be the face of this playbook.
Amidu, a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, went on to assert that it would be inconceivable to him if Ken Ofori-Atta returned to Ghana of his own accord.
‘Ken Ofori-Atta must be an idiot if, after advice from his lawyers, both national and international, he voluntarily returns to Ghana to subject himself to investigation and possible prosecution after the government machinery was used at taxpayers’ expense to mount a consistent trial in the court of public opinion (instead of in a court of law) of alleged suspected corruption and corruption-related offences against him. The case of Diezani Alison-Madueke, who got justice in the United Kingdom, not Nigeria, is a guide,’ he wrote.
He asserted that the laws governing the prosecution of corruption in the country are not being applied in Ofori-Atta’s case.
“The provisions of the 1992 Constitution on the fundamental human rights and freedoms guarantee everybody in Ghana expansive rights and freedoms to life, liberty, human dignity, equality and freedom from discrimination, protection of home and property, fair trial, and the general fundamental freedoms.
“Ordinary citizens and public office holders of whatever rank are equally guaranteed these rights and freedoms when it comes to the investigation and prosecution of crime. The Constitution treats crime as crime for everybody: it prohibits political crime for public office holders and crime for other citizens,” he said.
