The late Sir John
The Office of the Special Prosecutor says it has opened full scale investigations into corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of improper acquisition of State lands at the Achimota Forest enclave and Ramsar Site at Sakumono in Tema by the late Chief Executive of Forestry Commission, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, commonly called Sir John.
According to the OSP, the tentacles of the investigation are directed to other persons who fall within the same cycle of improper acquisition of state lands.
In a statement dated May 26, 2022 and signed by Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng has asked the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resource to fully cooperate with his office in the investigations.
This investigation is as a result of concerns raised by the public in relations to the number of assets acquired by former General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), especially state properties which were contained in a supposed Will and Testament, which has been making rounds in the media space for couple of days now.
Until his demise on July 1, 2020, Sir John’s assets as contained in his supposed Will and Testament were not known to the public.
But the leaked document has been a topical issue in the media space for couple of days, especially his alleged acquisition of several acres of state lands situated within the Achimota Forest and at Ramsar sites in Sakumono in the Greater Accra Region, which all falls under his office.
Many Ghanaians were concerns about the former Forestry Commission boss acquiring a state lands on the Achimota Forest area and a Ramsar site, an internationally recognised site due to its value and importance.
It is against some of these reasons that the OSP has initiated investigations into how those lands were acquired and any person found culpable will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Though, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has revealed that checks at the Lands and Forestry Commissions, on the repositories of the Achimota Forest or the Sakumono Ramsar Site show no records of ownership by Sir John, the OSP still find it interest to probe.
The minister stated that preliminary inquiries also showed the alleged will in question is a subject matter of litigation/contestation in the courts, and thus directed the Lands and Forestry Commissions to deem the ownership of the lands in question, void.
By Vincent Kubi