The choice words in some portions of the OSP’s report did not sit well with Barker-Vormawor, a private legal practitioner.
He appeared particularly lost by the OSP saying that it “almost convinced” that one businessman, whose name it redacted, is the one who tried to bribe the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs).
Barker-Vormawor asked the OSP to explain to Ghanaians what it meant by the use of the phrase “almost convinced” in its investigative report.
“The OSP is almost convinced that Mr.______________ is the businessman who attempted to offer to a section of the majority caucus of Parliament with the intention of influencing their demand for the resignation or removal of Mr. Ofori-Atta as Minister for Finance.”
“.... Me: Please what does “almost convinced mean”?” he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
What the OSP said:
The Office of the Special Prosecutor indicated that it has identified the businessman who was accused of attempting to bribe Majority Caucus Members of Parliament (MPs), who were demanding that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sacks his Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
In a redacted report signed by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, copied to GhanaWeb, the OSP, however, indicated that it cannot go on with the criminal prosecution of the said businessman, whose name it withheld, because of the lack of collaboration by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs.
The OSP particularly bemoaned the lack of cooperation of the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, who it described as the main accuser in its probe.
“The OSP is almost convinced that Mr XXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX is the businessman who attempted to offer to a section of the majority caucus of Parliament with the intention of influencing their demand for the resignation or removal of Mr Ofori-Atta as Minister for Finance. It appears to the OSP that Mr Appiah-Kubi is the accuser and the vital key to resolving the case.
“… Mr Appiah-Kubi’s refusal to cooperate with the investigation and his refusal to disclose the identity of the suspect are most regrettable. It is quite perplexing for a Member of Parliament to level accusations of attempted bribery on a person (whether certain or uncertain) in a most spectacular and public manner on a network of a major media house and then stage a bizarre volte-face by refusing to cooperate with the investigation and refusing to disclose and/or confirm the identity of the suspect,” part of the report reads.
The OSP stated that the said business denied meeting NPP MPs to induce them as alleged by Appiah-Kubi and corroborated by the Majority Leader and the MP for Suame, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, in media interviews.
It added that its interrogation of the suspect businessman and Appiah-Kubi showed that they were scheming to deny the bribery allegation.
On the way forward, the OSP indicated that Special Prosecutor Agyebeng has directed that the investigation into the matter should be closed because criminal proceedings against the suspect businessman would be useless at this time.
Read the full redacted report and Oliver’s post below:
BAI/OGB
You can also watch the latest episode of Everyday People on GhanaWeb TV below:
Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor (right) and Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng