Lawyer and Senior Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Kofi Bentil, has criticised the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for filing 78 criminal charges against former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and his co-accused, describing the approach as lacking seriousness.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, December 20, 2025, Mr Bentil argued that no experienced prosecutor would pursue such a large number of charges in a high-profile case, warning that it risks prolonging the trial and weakening the overall prosecution.
He explained that proving numerous charges is time-consuming and could allow the accused to challenge most of them successfully, potentially leading to an unfavourable outcome for the state.
“In a matter like this, when you have a very laser focus on one person, and you dump all these people in, and you don’t focus, and you bring 78 charges against the person, you are not serious,” Mr Bentil stated.
He suggested that a more effective strategy would involve concentrating on fewer, stronger charges, ideally under ten, that are likely to secure a conviction.
The charges follows investigations into alleged criminal conduct in dealings between the Government of Ghana and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), involving accusations of corruption and breach of public trust against Mr Ofori-Atta and several business figures and former officials.
While the OSP has defended the extensive indictment as reflective of the case’s complexity and seriousness, Mr Bentil warned that the approach could backfire, allowing the former minister to “walk” on most counts and prolong proceedings.
He reiterated that overloading a case with excessive charges in a targeted prosecution demonstrates a lack of strategic focus.