as Legal Backlash Grows
By Gifty Boateng
Two of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) most respected elder statesmen, former President John Kufuor and former Speaker of Parliament Aaron Mike Oquaye, have conspicuously declined to comment on the legal plight of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
Their studied silence, framed as a lack of information, has ignited controversy and exposed the deep discomfort within the party’s old guard over a scandal that implicates its most recent administration.
Ofori-Atta remains in U.S. custody, fighting extradition to face multiple corruption charges in Ghana related to the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML) scandal, filed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP). His case represents the most significant accountability test stemming from the Akufo-Addo presidency.
The evasions occurred at separate high-profile media events. Former President Kufuor, attending a forum on “lifestyle audit,” claimed he was not “abreast with information” when asked to comment.
This triggered a fierce rebuke from private legal practitioner and panelist Martin Kpebu, who accused Kufuor of a typical Ghanaian reluctance “to bear the brunt” on serious issues. Kpebu went further, critically reassessing Kufuor’s own legacy, stating his “last days were not happy days” and that he would not be counted “as a very good leader.”
Days later, former Speaker Oquaye echoed the tactic in an interview with TV3. He stated he would only comment after “everything has unfolded” and would need a “full dossier” on the matter, including details on Ofori-Atta’s health, before offering any advice. This sequential reluctance suggests a coordinated or instinctive strategy of detachment by the party’s senior figures.
The silence of Kufuor and Oquaye is politically strategic but carries significant risk. For the NPP, which is grappling with a devastating electoral loss and internal succession battles, the Ofori-Atta saga is a toxic distraction.
Commenting could force them to either condemn a key figure from the preceding NPP government potentially alienating a faction or appear to defend alleged corruption, undermining the party’s attempt to rebuild its image.
However, their refusal to engage has been framed by critics like Kpebu as a profound moral and leadership failure. It reinforces a public perception of an elite pact of silence, where former officials protect each other from scrutiny regardless of the allegations. Kpebu explicitly linked this behaviour to what is “drawing the country back.”
The elders’ stance reflects a broader NPP struggle to reckon with the controversies of the Akufo-Addo era. Ofori-Atta, as Finance Minister and the former President’s cousin, was the central architect of economic policy for seven years. His fall from grace and potential extradition is not just a legal issue but a direct indictment of the party’s recent governance.
Their silence contrasts with their willingness to speak on other matters; Kpebu pointedly reminded the audience that Kufuor had been publicly active in endorsing Mahamudu Bawumia during the 2024 campaign. This selective engagement underscores the political sensitivity of the Ofori-Atta case.
As the political drama unfolds in Accra, Ofori-Atta’s legal battle in the U.S. proceeds quietly. His immigration case was heard in a closed-door session at the Annandale Immigration Court in Virginia on 20 January and adjourned to 27 April. He is held at the Caroline Detention Center as U.S. authorities contest his lawful status in the country.
The reticence of figures like Kufuor and Oquaye signals that the NPP’s establishment hopes the storm will pass without their intervention.
However, with vocal critics seizing on their silence as evidence of complicity, their non-position may ultimately damage their stature and the party’s credibility more than a cautious, principled condemnation ever could. The party remains trapped between the past it cannot disown and a future it cannot define.