Investigative journalist Manasseh Awuni has welcomed the detention of Ghana’s former Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), describing the development as good news in the pursuit of justice.
According to him, deportation could be a quicker route to ensuring Ken Ofori-Atta faces justice in Ghana, compared to a prolonged extradition process.
Speaking on Joy News and monitored by NewsDesksGH on January 8 after news broke of the detention, Manasseh Awuni said details surrounding the detention remain limited.
“I don’t know much except what is out there and what I’m hearing is that this has more to do with his VISA status than the extradition request we’ve made, but either way, it is good news.”
He explained that he had previously reported on the former minister’s immigration status and suggested that the conditions attached to certain visas could have triggered the detention.
“I reported late last year that he had a VISA to the US that will expire on the 14th of February,”
“It is expected that certain categories of VISA’s are such that you will get in and then you leave at a certain point. So I suspect that may be the reason,”
“If we’re able to get him deported, that will serve a bigger or a faster purpose than going through the extradition process which can take forever. So in either way, I think this is good news and if the authorities proceed to act on this I see it as serving the interest of justice.”
The detention of the former finance minister was confirmed through a public notice issued on January 7 by his Ghanaian legal team, the law firm Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline and Partners.
According to his lawyers, Ken Ofori-Atta is cooperating fully with officials of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and expects the immigration matter to be resolved quickly.
He is reportedly being held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia, which houses both criminal offenders and non-criminal detainees.
Ken Ofori-Atta is also currently facing 78 counts of corruption and corruption-related offenses back here in Ghana. The charges were formally filed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor in November 2025.
He was declared a fugitive from justice on February 12, 2025, after failing to appear before the Office of the Special Prosecutor for questioning.
A Red Notice was subsequently issued on June 5, 2025, under the charge of “Using Public Office for Profit.”
On December 10, 2025, the Government of Ghana formally submitted a request to the United States Department of Justice for his extradition to face trial in Ghana.
Meanwhile, legal proceedings have been initiated to allow the case to proceed in absentia.
