Lawyer and Senior Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Kofi Bentil, has expressed reservations over the sheer number of charges filed against former Finance Minister Ken Ofori‑Atta and his co‑accused.
Mr Bentil, speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, December 20, while discussing the case, described the filing of 78 separate criminal charges as inappropriate.
According to him, no seasoned prosecutor would pursue such a voluminous indictment, arguing that it could imperil the smooth progression of the trial and the integrity of the eventual verdict.
“Any prosecutor involved in a serious case who put up 78 charges is not serious because you and I know how long it takes to prove them, to trial each of them.”
He argued, “In a matter like this, when you have a very laser focus on one person, and you dump all these people in, and you don’t focus, and you bring 78 charges against the person, you are not serious. Because if you are serious, you will know that these plenty things (charges), fewer than ten are going to hook him.”
The OSP initiated the comprehensive indictment earlier this year, alleging a pattern of criminal conduct in the controversial dealings between the Government of Ghana and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
Mr Ofori‑Atta, alongside a cohort of business figures and former public officials, stands accused across a broad spectrum of counts ranging from corruption to breach of public trust.
While the Special Prosecutor’s office has maintained that the breadth of the charges reflects the complexity and gravity of the alleged misconduct, Mr Bentil believes the strategy may prove counter‑productive.
“These are the things we do, and then we will lose the case. Read through the charges against Ken; he will walk with most of them, and he will use that to stretch this case,” he said.
“I repeat, any prosecutor who is faced with this kind of high-profile case where there is a primary focus on one person (is not serious),” he added.
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