‘He lives like an Arabian King, but can only recover GH₵100,000’

Policy analyst Atik Mohammed has heavily criticized the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, accusing him of gross incompetence in the discharge of his mandate to fight corruption.

According to him, the Ghanaian state has wasted public funds on the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), as the anti-corruption agency has shown little to no tangible results.

His comments follow a press conference held by the Special Prosecutor on June 2, 2025, after former Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta—who is under investigation—failed to return from abroad on the date communicated to him to assist in ongoing investigations.

The Special Prosecutor stated that he had no option but to re-declare the former minister as a wanted person by placing him on INTERPOL’s Red Notice list.

Further commenting on the Special Prosecutor’s performance, Atik Mohammed, a former General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), described the funds allocated to the OSP as a prime example of public investment that lacks value for money.

“We have wasted the country’s funds on the OSP. For all the resources that have been allocated, this is all we get? Sometimes, Ghana makes investments that don’t yield value for money, and this is one of them. We created this office to help in the fight against corruption. What successful prosecution has the Special Prosecutor secured? Just one. This man lives like an Arabian king, and all he has been able to recover is GH₵100,000. Who the hell is scared of the OSP?”

He continued, “It was only during Martin Amidu’s tenure that there seemed to be some fear of that office. But now, all the current Special Prosecutor does is appear on radio or TV to throw words around. If he loses a case in court, he simply returns to the media, sings a different tune, and moves on. This man travels more than the president—no one travels more than him. How do you expect to run this office successfully when you’re always on a flight? And he doesn’t travel alone. The amount of money we are spending on the office and on the SP himself—you have no idea. And this is all we get?”

Atik also questioned the Special Prosecutor’s silence on the recent court ruling involving the Juaben MCE.

“When he gave us the update, why didn’t he mention the case involving the Juaben MCE? The law says he must update the public on losses, convictions, and ongoing cases. Why didn’t he report on that? He has deliberately withheld that information. That is a breach of the very Act that established the office. The law does not permit selective updates—it requires full transparency.”

KA