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0 The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has revealed that Professor Ransford Gyampo, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers Authority, contacted the Office via phone and text messages during an ongoing search of the premises of Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
The disclosure comes in response to recent remarks made by Prof Gyampo, who suggested that the OSP’s investigation into former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta may be motivated by personal vendetta rather than objective legal grounds.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday, June 22, the OSP firmly rejected this claim, stressing that its actions are rooted in clearly stated allegations of corruption and corruption-related offences.
These include the alleged abuse of office for personal profit in connection with the awarding of a multi-year contract to SML.
According to the OSP, Prof Gyampo made attempts to reach the Office while officers from the OSP and the National Security Secretariat were lawfully executing a search warrant at SML’s premises.
“While the OSP welcomes criticism of its work,” the statement read, “it cautions public officials to refrain from interfering — whether directly or through unfounded public statements — with ongoing investigations.”
The Office warned that such conduct could jeopardise the fight against corruption and erode public confidence in accountability mechanisms.
Prof Gyampo called for fairness and neutrality in the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) ongoing investigation into former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Speaking during a panel discussion on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, June 21, Prof Gyampo voiced concern over the manner in which the investigation is being conducted.
“I hope the OSP is not motivated by vendetta,” he stated.
The move has sparked criticism from some observers who argue that the OSP could have explored alternative approaches to obtain information from the former minister.
Among the options raised were virtual interrogation or dispatching investigators to meet him abroad.
Despite Mr Ofori-Atta’s legal team had requested a video conferencing session due to his health condition, however, this was turned down by the OSP, which maintained that he had not been formally charged and must comply with standard investigative procedures.
Suggestions that the OSP could send officers abroad to meet the former minister were also dismissed by the Office on grounds of cost to the public purse.
In response, Prof Gyampo emphasised the need for greater clarity regarding Ofori-Atta’s medical condition.
“It is important to find out if Mr Ofori-Atta is not sick. Because being sick is not an easy matter,” he remarked.
He further questioned the OSP’s track record in handling high-profile corruption cases, pointing to past instances where investigations launched with public fanfare failed to yield substantive outcomes.
“And the OSP, they have in the past started so dramatically but, in the end, we saw nothing. Look at the Cecilia Dapaah case,” he said.
