From Power to Prison: See some public appointees jailed under Kufuor

Since Ghana transitioned into the Fourth Republic, several government appointees have faced jail terms over offences including causing financial loss to the state, defrauding by false pretences, and other related charges.

The administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor was no exception.

When President Kufuor assumed office on January 7, 2001, several appointees who served under former President Jerry John Rawlings were prosecuted and jailed over various offences, including causing financial loss to the state.

This article highlights some government appointees who served jail terms during President Kufuor’s administration:

Victor Selormey

Victor Lawrence Kwashie Selormey, a Ghanaian economist who served as Deputy Minister of Finance under the late President Jerry John Rawlings, was convicted during former President Kufuor’s administration over charges related to financial impropriety.

In 2001, he was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for defrauding by false pretence and causing financial loss to the state.

Selormey’s case centred on the sale of 60% of GNPC’s 40% shareholding in LEEBDA Corporation to an American company, Amromco Energy LLC, for $20 million in 1998.

The central allegation was that LEEBDA Corporation did not exist at the time of the transaction and, therefore, no shares could legally have been sold.

Victor Selormey: Rawlings's deputy finance minister who spent his days in jail on a pacemaker and oxygen tank

The prosecution argued that Selormey and others conspired to defraud the state by selling shares in a non-existent company, claiming that no such company had been registered in Delaware, USA, where LEEBDA was allegedly incorporated.

The defence argued that LEEBDA did exist but had been dissolved before the transaction was completed. They also maintained that Selormey was unaware of the dissolution at the time of the deal.

The trial and conviction remain controversial, with claims that evidence, including documents from Delaware reportedly confirming LEEBDA’s existence, was withheld, which supporters argue could have changed public understanding of the case.

Kwame Peprah

The imprisonment of Ghana’s former Minister of Finance, Kwame Peprah, remains one of the most debated legal cases in the country.

On April 28, 2003, an Accra Fast Track High Court sentenced him to prison for causing financial loss to the state.

The case, presided over by Justice Dixon Kwame Afreh, then a Supreme Court judge, found the former finance minister guilty over his involvement in the Quality Grain Company case.

According to court records and reports, Kwame Peprah, together with three former senior public officials, was charged with conspiracy and causing a financial loss of $20 million to the state in connection with a rice project at Aveyime in the Volta Region.

Tsatsu Tsikata

This list would not be complete without mentioning one of Ghana’s most prominent legal figures, Tsatsu Tsikata.

His conviction remains one of the most widely discussed and controversial rulings in Ghana’s legal history.

In 2008, an Accra High Court found Tsatsu Tsikata guilty of wilfully causing financial loss to the state, a ruling that generated nationwide debate and shook Ghana’s legal and political landscape.

On the day of judgment, Tsikata appeared in court without his lawyer, who was absent due to a scheduled interlocutory application.

He was accused of unlawfully using the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), where he served as Chief Executive Officer, to guarantee a loan for Valley Farms Company Limited.

GNPC had been established under the Ghana Petroleum Corporation Law, 1983 (PNDCL 64).

In March 1991, Tsikata agreed with Caisse Française (CF), allowing GNPC to act as guarantor for a loan granted to Valley Farms Company Limited, a cocoa-producing company in Ghana.

In 1993, the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 1993 (Act 458), introduced provisions criminalising actions that lead to financial loss to the state.

Valley Farms later defaulted on the loan in 1996, leading GNPC to honour the guarantee.

Those payments were later interpreted as financial loss to the state attributable to Tsikata’s authority.

Tsatsu Tsikata opens up on how he went to jail under Kufuor without trial

He was convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each of four counts, to run concurrently.

However, he was later released after the Court of Appeal overturned all convictions and sentences.

Ibrahim Adams

Former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ibrahim Adams, was also among government officials jailed during President Kufuor’s administration.

He received a two-year prison sentence over his involvement in the Quality Grain Company case.

He was accused of contributing to a financial loss of $20 million to the state in relation to the rice project at Aveyime in the Volta Region.

Adams served his sentence at Kumasi Central Prison and was released in 2004 after completing his term.

Dr Sipa Yankey

Dr George Sipa Yankey, former Director of Legal Sector, Private and Financial Institutions at the Ministry of Finance, was also convicted alongside Ibrahim Adams and Kwame Peprah.

He received a two-year prison sentence for his role in the same Aveyime rice project case.

Dr Yankey was released in 2004 after serving his sentence at Kumasi Central Prison.

Daniel Abodakpi

In 2007, Daniel Abodakpi became the first Member of Parliament to be imprisoned during Ghana’s Fourth Republic.

He was then the Member of Parliament for Keta on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and had also served as Minister for Trade and Industry.

From Dan Abodakpi to Eric Amoateng: Ghanaian MPs who were jailed

Abodakpi was convicted on charges including conspiracy, defrauding by false pretence, and causing financial loss of $400,000 to the state through a controversial feasibility study conducted under the Trade and Investment Programme.

He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour.

JHM/VPO