I just watched an interview Government Spokesperson Felix Ofosu-Kwakye, granted Joy News today in which he states no one should make demands for special treatment for Ken Ofori-Atta, brushing away Ofori-Atta’s reported concerns that he may be treated unfairly or unjustly when he returns to Ghana. That is a fair argument.
However, his quipping that “As far as I know Ghana is not a Banana Republic” was perplexing. After all, the whole world has witnessed the actions and inactions of the Mahama Government in the Ken Ofori-Atta saga, and many have indeed wondered whether Ghana was not veering towards “Banana Republicdom”
A Banana Republic is one in which a charged political atmosphere is generated that leads a Ken Ofori-Atta, worried about his safety, if he returns to Ghana, to apply to the US authorities to adjust his immigration status.
A Banana Republic is one in which an Attorney General claims credit for having ICE arrest and detain a Ken Ofori-Atta. According to this AG, this was because he had started investigating Ken Ofori-Atta in certain offshore dealings and so, in concert with the FBI resorted to the ICE action, so as to short-circuit an extradition process.
That begs the question. How many other Ghanaians have been picked up by ICE due to misinformation about them by the Attorney General of the Republic of Ghana and Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States?
In this instance Ken Ofori-Atta has received extremely Special Treatment, as the AG has not laid claim to reporting any other Ghanaians anywhere else in the world to immigration authorities.
So even though, at the time of his arrest by ICE, Mr Ofori-Atta presence in the US had not breached any immigration laws, the Attorney General of the Republic of Ghana induced the breach of Ken’s immigration rights. Indeed a Banana Republic is one in which the state sets traps for its own citizens in order to circumvent the Rule of Law and due process.
And then a Banana Republic is one in which an AG sensationally lays claims of impropriety regarding certain offshore dealings of a citizen to the public, yet till date has not divulged details of the said offshore investigation and what other steps he is taking to interview or charge that citizen. Public persecution, sorry prosecution in the court of public opinion is a true hallmark of a Banana Republic.
Furthermore, a Banana Republic is one in which wrongs experienced by citizens by past governments are used, not as an example of what not to do today, but as a guide to continue to mete high-handed treatment to citizens and to emphasise that trampling on citizens’ rights and freedoms is a way of life. Watching The Government Spokesperson enumerate past cases appears to leave the impression that it is payback time and a time to settle scores.
A Banana Republic is one in which a man’s house is raided and his reports to the Inspector General of Police, The High Command of Ghana’s Military and the Bosses of National Intelligence are not even acknowledged. In a Banana Republic, a political opponents rights and liberties are not worth protecting as the rule of Law is done away with and the rule of the jungle appears to take precedence.
A Banana Republic is also one in which an Interpol Red Notice Alert is issued without a proper warrant from a circuit judge, unsupported by any oath to restrict the movements of a citizen. And then the same leadership questions the victim’s apprehension? Especially when a Chief Justice has been “sacked”, based on dodgy premises, to fulfil a campaign promise made by these same leaders.
In all the instances cited above, Ken Ofori-Atta has received very Special Treatment, it is too late for Mr. Government to protest now. And also in all these actions by the State against Ken Ofori Atta, Ghana has appeared to have veered away from the Rule of Law, adopting instead the garb of a Banana Republic.
So the fact that the government spokesperson pretends Mr Ofori-Atta is merely unwilling to return or seeks some special treatment, when it is his own government’s actions that have caused Ofori-Atta apprehension is paradoxical.
Until the Mahama Government accepts that some of its security and anti-corruption agencies trampled on the rights of Ken Ofori-Atta leading to his apprehension, they can scream themselves hoarse about due process, respecting the law, special treatment, bail conditions etc etc, their persecution of Ken Ofori-Atta since February 2025 will continue to stare at them squarely in the face.
G. A. Agbesinyale
