Trial of Ken Ofori-Atta adjourned to February 26 over outstanding procedural issues

The criminal trial involving former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and seven other accused persons has been adjourned to February 26 to allow the prosecution additional time to complete outstanding procedural processes.

The adjournment followed a request by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), which said it needed more time to finalise international procedures for serving summons on Mr Ofori-Atta and another accused person, Ernest Darko Akore. Both individuals have been declared fugitives from justice and are currently outside the country.

According to JoyNews’ Legal Affairs Correspondent, Kwaku Asante, Wednesday’s hearing was scheduled to be a case management conference, during which the court was expected to issue directions on how the trial would proceed. However, the conference could not be held because the prosecution had not satisfied two key pre-trial requirements.

First, summons have yet to be served on Mr Ofori-Atta and Mr Akore. Given their absence from the jurisdiction, service must be effected through the Attorney-General’s Department, a process the OSP said is still ongoing.

Second, the prosecution is required to file and serve all disclosure documents before a case management conference can take place. While some disclosures have been filed, the OSP told the court that not all had been served on the defence.

The prosecution therefore requested additional time to complete the service of summons and outstanding disclosures to enable the case management conference to proceed when the court reconvenes next month.

The court granted the request and adjourned the matter to February 26, expecting that all procedural issues would be resolved by that date.

The case arises from charges filed by the OSP in November 2025, accusing Mr Ofori-Atta and his co-accused of corruption and corruption-related offences linked largely to contracts awarded to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) and related public procurement transactions.

The eight accused persons are Ken Ofori-Atta, Ernest Darko Akore, Emmanuel Kofi Nti, Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Isaac Crentsil, Kwadwo Damoah, Evans Adusei, and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited. The prosecution alleges that the accused caused significant financial loss to the state through unlawful payments, procurement breaches, and other infractions connected to contracts executed between 2018 and 2024.