Hon. Dennis Amfo Sefah, 2024 NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Tema West, has accused the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) of engaging in “political intimidation disguised as law enforcement”, warning that Ghana is becoming hostile to its own young business owners.
In a strongly worded statement titled “Destroying Ghana’s Young Business Owners Through Political Vendetta and State-Sponsored Intimidation”, Amfo Sefah, a businessman and student of law, condemned what he described as the dangerous use of state institutions to target private enterprise.
The statement centres on recent actions involving Sesi Edem Company Limited and its director, Hon. Tanko Kwamigah, who is the Member of the Council of State representing the Volta Region.
“How does a purely private contractual transaction between companies suddenly become the subject of aggressive criminal investigation? On what legal basis does a state agency insert itself into a commercial dispute, one governed by agreed timelines and contractual obligations?” Amfo Sefah asked.
“This is not law. This is a clear case of abuse.”
He argued that EOCO’s actions violate key constitutional provisions. Article 23, he noted, demands fairness, reasonableness, and strict compliance with the law by administrative bodies. Article 296, he added, explicitly forbids the arbitrary or biased use of discretionary power, while Article 19(2)(c) guarantees the presumption of innocence.
“Yet, in clear defiance of these principles and even in the face of court rulings, individuals are publicly branded as ‘wanted persons’, their reputations dragged through the mud, and their businesses destabilised,” he said.
Amfo Sefah stressed that EOCO’s mandate under Act 804 is to investigate serious financial crimes, “not to act as a recovery agent or enforcement arm in private commercial disagreements”.
“Stretching that mandate to justify intrusion into contractual disputes is not only unlawful but also reckless,” he stated, citing Republic v. Minister for the Interior; Ex Parte Bombelli and Awuni v. WAEC as cases where courts warned against such overreach and struck down administrative actions violating natural justice.
“Let’s not pretend there isn’t a political undertone here,” Amfo Sefah wrote. He noted that Gabriel Tanko Kwamigah-Atokple, a young businessman who reportedly holds valid licences from the Ghana Gold Board and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, became a target “not long after asserting himself politically in the Volta Region Council of State elections”.
He now faces allegations of fraud and money laundering. “This can’t be coincidence,” Amfo Sefah said.
“By these actions of EOCO, what message are we sending to young Ghanaians? That if you succeed, you will be watched. If you rise, you will be targeted. If you dare to step into any space with political implications, your business can be dismantled overnight using the very institutions meant to protect you.”
He warned that investor confidence cannot survive where state agencies act on “suspicion, perception, or political influence rather than evidence and law”.
“Entrepreneurship does not thrive where success invites persecution. The use of state power as a weapon against young business leaders is not just unjust; it is economically suicidal.”
Amfo Sefah reminded state bodies that “they are servants of the law, not tools for settling political scores.”
“The Constitution is not optional. Court orders are not suggestions. And the rights of citizens, especially those building legitimate businesses, are not expendable,” he said.
“Ghana cannot afford to turn its brightest entrepreneurs into victims of political hostility. If we continue down this path, we will not need enemies, because we would have successfully destroyed ourselves.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
