Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has sued the Office of Special prosecutor for declaring him wanted.
He is praying the court to grant an injunction to prevent the OSP from reissuing the declaration.
Mr. Ofori-Atta described the declaration as baseless and unjustified.
He claimed in his lawsuit that the OSP’s actions have caused significant damage to his reputation and personal life.
He is therefore asking the court to restrain the OSP from making any further declarations against him until the legal process is fully resolved.
The suit filed at the High Court, Human Rights Division is demanding for several declarations, including:
- The OSP has no legal mandate to use media briefings to declare an individual wanted. Ken Ofori-Atta argues that such declarations fall under police jurisdiction and must be done with court approval.
- By declaring him wanted without proper legal basis, the OSP allegedly exceeded its authority under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Operations) Regulations, 2018 (LI 2374).
- The alleged unlawful declaration infringes on his personal liberty (Article 14) and freedom of movement (Article 21) as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution. It also violates international human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR).
He further accused the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, of professional misconduct.He stated that Mr. Agyebeng violated Article 23 of the Constitution by responding to his solicitors via media briefing rather than through formal legal channels.
Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta is seeking, among others:
• The removal of his photograph and details from the OSP’s Wanted List.
• Compensation for damages caused by the unlawful declaration and public listing as a wanted person.
• Formal responses from the OSP to outstanding legal correspondences from his solicitors.
• Listing of required documents from the OSP for investigation purposes, to be served on his solicitors in anticipation of his return to Ghana.
• An injunction preventing the OSP from re-declaring him a wanted person or a fugitive from justice.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
