Did you know that Enayat Qasimi, Ken Ofori-Atta’s international lawyer, is in many ways the Ken Ofori-Atta of Afghanistan? History has a sense of humour. Sometimes it even hires counsel.
Mr Qasimi is no small name. He is a Washington DC D.C.-based attorney, partner and co-chair of international practice at a respected American law firm, armed with decades of experience and a confident baritone for television interviews. When Ken Ofori Atta needed a global defender to fight extradition, contest Red Notices, and lecture Ghana on due process, Mr Qasimi stepped forward like a man who knows the terrain well.
And he should. He has been there before.
Before the tailored suits and BBC soundbites, Enayatullah Qasimi was Afghanistan’s Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation and a legal adviser to President Hamid Karzai. A powerful office. Public money. Aircraft procurement. And then, allegations.
Afghan prosecutors accused him of misappropriation and abuse of authority over an aircraft deal said to be overpriced by millions. He was detained. Released on bail. Restricted from travel. The case never resolved into public exoneration. Instead, geography intervened. Kabul faded. Washington emerged.
A man once accused of abusing public office now stands as the loudest voice insisting that another man accused of abusing public office is a victim of politics. A former minister who once faced questions now demands that questions be treated as persecution when they approach his client.
Mr Qasimi insists that Ken Ofori-Atta is not evading justice. He is merely abroad. Recuperating. Misunderstood. That Red Notices are unnecessary. That Ghana’s prosecutors are overreaching. That constitutional rights are being trampled. It is a familiar melody. Those who know the song often learned it when the chorus first came for them.
Kay Codjoe
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