By Daniel Bampoe
Former Special Prosecutor Martin ABK Amidu has launched a blistering attack on the current head of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), William Kissi Agyebeng, describing his conduct as “rogue” and accusing him of weaponizing media narratives in the name of anti-corruption while violating constitutional principles and human dignity.
In a 2 June 2025 article titled “The OSP Is Again Playing Games with the Ghanaian Mind,” Amidu sharply criticized the OSP’s recent declaration of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta a wanted man and initiate an INTERPOL Red Notice for his arrest.
He stated unequivocally: “The OSP has become a rogue anti-corruption agency engaged in anti-corruption entrepreneurship, dissipating millions of Ghana Cedis budgeted for the agency, threatening and trying suspects presumed innocent in the court of public opinion using rented media.”
Amidu argued that this recent media threat was disingenuous, especially given that Ofori-Atta’s lawyers had already formally informed the Human Rights Court and the OSP of his deteriorating medical condition and inability to report as previously scheduled.
“The public should be interested in knowing when Ken Ofori-Atta’s lawyers formally informed the Human Rights Court and OSP of his state of health and why the OSP thinks it has to inform the public on 1 June 2025 when the records provided to the Court became public records for the media to find out for themselves,” he said.
He accused Agyebeng of failing to investigate the Agyapa Royalties Transaction, despite having pledged under oath to Parliament to do so upon assuming office on 9 August 2021.
“This undertaking on oath to the Parliament and People of Ghana was never carried out,” Amidu wrote, suggesting that the OSP deliberately avoided confronting the former administration while it remained in power.
Amidu further alleged that Ofori-Atta was never invited to assist in any OSP investigation during the NPP’s tenure, despite serving as the Minister for Finance and being central to the agency’s funding.
“Ken Ofori-Atta was never invited to assist the investigations… until 24 January 2025 when there had been a change in government,” he noted.
“With Kissi Agyebeng’s appointing President out of office, he was simply leading the OSP to ingratiate itself into the favours of the new government for more budgetary allocations.”
Amidu accused the OSP of compromising due process. “This ruse of inviting Ken Ofori-Atta as a suspect presumed innocent… was as usual played out in the media to dehumanize and create in the public mind a prejudicial presumption of guilt,” he claimed.
“The threats… are the hallmarks of the Special Prosecutor abusing his powers under the 1992 Constitution and blowing hot air in the media to manipulate public opinion.”
Referring to Kissi Agyebeng’s past, Martin Amidu recounted how the Special Prosecutor allegedly visited fugitives in the UK without legal authority and dropped cases despite warrants and INTERPOL notices.
“The Ghanaian public cannot forget so easily that William Kissi Agyebeng, without any legal authority, visited four absconded suspects… and closed the case docket,” he wrote.
Turning to Ofori-Atta’s current medical condition, Amidu called out the OSP for refusing to acknowledge medical evidence and offered to participate virtually in the investigation.
“Ken Ofori-Atta and his lawyers have offered to take part in the OSP’s investigations virtually… I wonder why the OSP found it necessary to still make publications in the media,” he said.
He also accused the OSP under Agyebeng of mismanaging funds and failing to deliver results.
“The OSP under Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng as usual dissipated the Sixty Million Ghana Cedis without anything to show for it,” Amidu alleged, referencing a transfer he had refused to spend during his tenure.
Citing historical parallels, Amidu warned against repeating the harsh treatment of sick public officials.
“Memory lane will remind Ghanaians that the late Victor Selormey was put under needless pressure… only to be arrested at the airport… investigated, tried, convicted, sentenced and to die,” he said, drawing a line from past injustices to current actions.
He cautioned the NDC-led administration not to repeat the “folly” of the John Agyekum Kufuor government.
“The folly of the John Agyekum Kufuor government… must not be repeated under an NDC government should there be unambiguous evidence that Ken Ofori-Atta has a life-threatening illness,” Amidu advised.
He closed his initial article with a dire warning about how the United States would view any attempt to extradite Ofori-Atta under such conditions.
“The US government will not extradite Ken Ofori-Atta… if the whole investigation and prosecutorial process by the OSP has been prejudiced with a prior trial and conviction in the court of public opinion,” he stated.
‘Unprofessional’ Media Conference
In a sharp postscript following the OSP’s 5 PM press conference on 2 June 2025, Martin Amidu doubled down on his accusations, calling it a calculated attempt to intensify Ofori-Atta’s trial in the media.
“The media conference was nothing but a rehash of previous demonization of Ken Ofori-Atta by the Special Prosecutor,” he wrote.
Responding to Kissi Agyebeng’s declaration that “no person, regardless of title, status, or medical condition, is beyond the reach of inquiry by the OSP,” Amidu dismissed it as “utter nonsense.”
He retorted: “There is no such general principle clogging the discretion and ethics of professional investigators and prosecutors.”
He accused the Special Prosecutor of cowardice and opportunism: “A coward who only goes after former Ministers of State and high government appointees, and not serving ones, is an entrepreneur!”
Amidu also condemned the OSP’s disclosure of Ofori-Atta’s suspected cancer during the conference.
“Power should not… let Kissi Agyebeng make light of Ken Ofori-Atta’s ailment,” he warned. “It is unprofessional for an investigator and prosecutor to go after the person of the suspect instead of the crime.”
Quoting the Constitution, Martin Amidu reminded Ghanaians that “Ken Ofori-Atta is entitled to his privacy and human dignity.”
