Appiah-Kubi showed open hostility, tight-lipped on businessman who attempted to bribe NPP MPs – OSP report

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has released the report of the investigations of the alleged bribery of a section of the Majority Caucus in Parliament by a certain wealthy businessman to influence their decision for the resignation of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

The report was released on Wednesday, 3 January 2024.

This follows a complaint dated 3 November 2022, by pressure group, OccupyGhana petitioning the OSP to investigate allegations of attempted bribery of the majority caucus of Parliament by a wealthy businessman.

OccupyGhana stated that it had followed media reports from interviews by Accra-based Joy FM with the Member of Parliament for Suame Constituency in the Ashanti Region and Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Mr. Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi – in which the two Members of Parliament alleged that an unnamed, wealthy businessman had attempted to bribe a section of the majority caucus of Parliament.

According to the OccuyGhana, if the allegation of attempted bribery is established, it would amount to an attempt to influence the conduct of Members of Parliament in the course of their official duties. Hence its petition to the OSP to investigate the affair and to proceed to prosecute, if established.

In the report of the investigations which spanned a period of 8 months, the OSP revealed that: “The investigation showed that circa September 2022, eighty (80) Members of Parliament of the NPP publicly called for the resignation or removal of the Minister for Finance, Mr. Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta over complaints of his inability to properly manage the economy of Ghana. The apparent spokesperson of the group of eighty was Mr. Appiah-Kubi.

“Mr. Appiah-Kubi’s interview was first in time. He stated outrightly that a certain well-known wealthy Ghanaian businessman visited Parliament House on 1 October 2022 and requested a meeting with a section of NPP Members of Parliament. He stated that at the meeting the well-known wealthy businessman offered them huge sums of money in envelopes with the intention of influencing them to rescind their demand for the resignation or removal of Mr. Ofori-Atta. He further stated that the Members of Parliament stood their ground and rejected the offer of money. Mr. Appiah-Kubi did not disclose the identity of the well-known wealthy businessman during the interview.”

Despite admitting granting an interview on the Accra-based radio station, Mr Appiah-Kubi declined to reveal the identity of the businessman, the OSP’s report detailed.

“Mr. Appiah-Kubi admitted granting an interview on Joy FM in which he claimed that a certain well-known wealthy Ghanaian businessman visited Parliament House on 1 October 2022 and requested a meeting with a section of NPP Members of Parliament and that the businessman in question had attempted to bribe them. However, he declined to watch the audio-visual rendition of his interview on Joy FM. The interview was replayed to him anyway. Thereafter, he effectively invoked his right to remain silent. He refused to disclose the identities of the Members of Parliament present at the meeting with the undisclosed businessman. He refused to disclose the identity of the wealthy businessman. He refused to disclose the amount of money offered by the undisclosed businessman. He refused to answer all other questions posed to him.

“Mr. Appiah-Kubi showed open hostility to the authorised officers of the OSP and he was unyielding in his resolve not to cooperate with the investigation. Indeed, he flatly refused to cooperate with the OSP, though he had stated that he would fully cooperate with the investigation, and though he declared to the media subsequent to the OSP’s interview that he fully cooperated with the OSP,” the report indicated.

It further revealed that: “Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu denied direct knowledge of the matter. He denied knowledge of the undisclosed wealthy businessman and the amount of money he allegedly offered to the indicated section of Members of Parliament.

It added that Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated that his “limited knowledge of the matter was based largely on rumours and the interview granted by Mr. Appiah-Kubi on Joy FM.”

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