A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team, Pius Enam Hadzide, says calls for former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to return to the country are a non-issue if legal proceedings against him are already ongoing in absentia.
Speaking on the AM Show on April 9, Pius Hadzide referenced the State vs Benjilo case, noting that the Supreme Court had previously affirmed that proceedings can continue even in the absence of a party that has been duly notified.
He said in the Benjilo case, “the Supreme Court affirmed and asserted that even in the absence of the accused, once duly notified, proceedings can go on in absentia”.
He described reports that Ken Ofori-Atta is being tried in absentia as new information to him, but said it does not significantly change the legal position.
“You have now broken the news that Ofori-Atta is being tried in absentia. This is news to me. But if that is the case, then there is no point in all this ‘he must return today,’” he said.
“His absence becomes a problem only if it obstructs proceedings. Otherwise, if the trial can continue, then the insistence on his presence becomes a non-issue,” he added.
Mr Hadzide called for calm and urged that the legal process be allowed to take its course without unnecessary public pressure.
“That is why I am saying they should go on with it and stop all this noise. If the processes can proceed without him, then let the law take its course,” he said.
The last time the case was called in court (March 26, 2026), a Principal Prosecutor of the State, Adelaide Kobiri-Woode, told the court that processes to serve Ofori-Atta (first accused) and the second accused, Ernest Darko Akore, with criminal summons and charge sheets had not yet been completed.
The former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and seven others are to be prosecuted for alleged corruption and corruption-related offences.
The case was adjourned to April 23, 2026.
Read also: The State vs Ken Ofori-Atta & 7 others: Case adjourned again
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