Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner, has told the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to initiate a trial in absentia against former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM, Mr Kpebu stated, “That’s how come for me, I said this is his [Ofori-Atta’s] country. He has some properties here, so let’s start. If we start and he doesn’t come, then the trial will go on without him.
“Let’s do the processes. Take the offer. Have you gone to Ofori-Atta to take his statement in America, and he says no? He says he will do it. So let’s do it. Then we can start the trial here,” he added.
He explained, “Article 19 clause 3 simply says that if you know there is a criminal case against you and you don’t appear, the trial can proceed in your absence”.
In related news, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, the Deputy Attorney General, has revealed that the Office of the Attorney General has still not received dockets from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for the extradition of former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
According to Dr Justice Srem-Sai, the AG’s office has written multiple letters to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), requesting more than two months now.
He revealed that the Attorney General’s Department is the only authority that can initiate and make an extradition request.
Speaking in a yet-to-be aired interview with Accra-based GHOne TV, Dr Srem-Sai stated, “Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta is the subject of several criminal investigations. I think the most well-known is the one being conducted by the OSP, which we are made to believe is at an advanced stage where extradition may be required.
Indeed, the OSP has already put a Red Alert notice on him. But the INTERPOL alert is not an extradition procedure. If we really want the person to come, formal steps must be taken,” he said.
He further detailed, “I want to make this clear; we [the Attorney General’s Department] are the only authority that can initiate and make an extradition request, but we need the investigative docket from the OSP to do so. As of today, we still don’t have the docket, despite sending several requests, including written letters and formal demands”.
“It’s been two months, and we still have not received the docket from the OSP. Without the docket, you cannot approach the American authorities to initiate the extradition,” Dr Srem-Sai said.
It will be recalled that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Kissi Agyebeng, declared Ken Ofori-Atta a fugitive for failing to appear for interrogation into corruption-related investigations.
Ken Ofori Atta has been accused of causing financial loss to the state in several dealings, including the construction of the famous National Cathedral and Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA’s) – Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML), Termination of a contract between the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited and Beijing Xiao Cheng Technology (BXC) for the Distribution and Ambulance Procurement: A Ministry of Health contract with Service Ghana Auto Group Limited.
Kissi Agyebeng, in a press conference, stated, “On 24th January 2025, the OSP communicated to Mr Ofori-Atta that the OSP considered him a suspect, in respect to four of the cases described above. Mr Ofori-Atta was directed to attend in person at OSP on Monday, 10th February 2025, at 10GMT for an interview”.
By communication dated 31 January 2025, Mr Ofori-Atta instructed his lawyers to inform the OSP that he was out of the jurisdiction indefinitely on medical grounds and that the firm would notify the OSP of his arrival in the country in need of rescheduling his personal attendance at the OSP.
Further, the firm offered its willingness to provide the OSP with any information the OSP may require,” he noted.
“The fugitive’s name is Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori Atta. Mr Ofori-Atta is 66 years old. He was the minister of Finance of the republic between 2017 and 2024. Mr Ofori-Atta left the jurisdiction on or around 2 January 2025. On 24th January 2025, the OSP communicated to Mr Ofori-Atta that the OSP considered him a suspect in respect to four of the cases above. Mr Ofori-Atta was asked to attend in person on Monday, 10th February 2025, at 10GMT for an interview…Mr Ofori-Atta instructed his lawyers to inform the OSP that he was out of the jurisdiction indefinitely on medical grounds…”
On June 13, 2025, Mayo Clinic in the United States revealed Ken Ofori-Atta has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is expected to undergo surgery on June 13, 2025.
The wife, Prof. Mrs Angela Ofori-Atta, in the statement dated June 16, 2025, explained that Mr Ofori-Atta successfully underwent the surgery for prostate cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, on Friday, June 13, and lasted over four hours.
“The doctors are pleased with how the procedure went and will now place him on a postoperative regime,” she added.
“Kenneth has always been resilient. But this has been very difficult; with the OSP choosing the period just before his surgery to declare a red alert on him,” she said.
She further gave a possible timeline by which her husband would be able to honour the invitation by the Special Prosecutor to appear before his outfit in person.
According to Prof Mrs Angela Ofori-Atta, after a successful surgery on June 13, Mr Ofori-Atta would require about 3 months to recover fully.
Mr Ofori-Atta failed to appear before the OSP for an investigative interview scheduled for Monday, June 2, 2025.
The OSP later issued a notice placing Ken Ofori-Atta on the INTERPOL Red Alert Notice database, but despite the notice, the former finance minister is still at large.