Ill health without proof of incapacitation no excuse to evade justice – OSP’s Sammy Darko – Nsemkeka
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has reiterated that ill health cannot be used as a reason to evade law enforcement, unless there is clear and credible medical proof of total incapacitation.
Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews on Tuesday, June 3, the Director of Strategy, Research, and Communication at the OSP, Samuel Appiah Darko, said that former Finance Minister, Mr Kenneth Ofori-Atta, has failed to honour multiple invitations from the OSP in connection with an ongoing investigation.
“Sickness is never a bar against reporting to law enforcement—unless you are so sick, so invalid,” Mr Appiah Darko asserted.
- Read also: OSP dismisses purported medical report on Ken Ofori-Atta, denies receiving any official document
His remarks follow the circulation of an alleged medical report from the Mayo Clinic in the United States, which claims that Mr Ofori-Atta is unwell.
However, Mr Appiah Darko emphasised that the report has not been officially submitted to the OSP.
He made it clear that without a formal medical certification explicitly stating that Mr Ofori-Atta is medically unfit to travel, his continued absence from Ghana cannot be justified.
“Whether the Mayo Clinic has certified him or not—unless they have stated that he is so unwell that he cannot travel—nothing stops Mr Ofori-Atta from returning to Ghana and facing the OSP. After that, he can return abroad to continue any treatment or engagements,” he explained.
Citing constitutional provisions, Mr Appiah Darko added that only individuals who are completely incapacitated—“so broken and in bed that they cannot move”—may be excused from appearing before law enforcement.
“Short of that, no other excuse is acceptable. What we are saying is that he has simply decided not to appear, despite having been given multiple opportunities,” he said.
Meanwhile, the OSP has categorically discredited the purported medical report circulating in the media, stating that it has not received any such documentation from Mr Ofori-Atta or his legal team.