In the ongoing trial of former COCOBOD Chief Executive Dr. Stephen Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo, fresh revelations have emerged regarding the involvement of former Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo in initiating their prosecution.
Notably, one of Mr. Osafo-Maafo’s relatives, Evelyn Keelson, serves as a state attorney prosecuting the case. Despite this, Osafo-Maafo maintains his position as Senior Presidential Advisor in the Akufo-Addo government.
During proceedings presided over by Justice Aboagye Tandoh on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, it was disclosed that Mr. Osafo-Maafo convened a meeting in his office in 2017 to discuss the controversial lithovit liquid fertilizer at the center of the trial.
Head of the Material Science Department at the Ghana Standards Authority, Genevieve Baah Mante, testified as a subpoenaed witness of Seidu Agongo, shedding light on the meeting’s discussions.
“We discussed the results of the two institutions (Ghana Standards Authority and the University of Ghana’s Chemistry Department) and pointed out possible discrepancies in the reports. These included different batch numbers of the same sample supplied to the different institutions.
“The second was the difference in environmental and testing conditions. And the third was the protocol used in testing the samples.
“The fourth was how the sample was sampled (picked). The two institutions requested further testing of the samples.”
Counsel for Mr Agongo, Benson Nutsukpui, then asked the witness, “All these you just told the court took place in Honourable Osafo-Maafo’s office?”
Mrs Genevieve Baah Mante answered in the affirmative, “Yes, my lord”.
The trial involves Dr. Opuni, Mr. Agongo, and Agricult Ghana Limited facing multiple charges related to the purchase of Lithovit Liquid Fertilizer between 2014 and 2016, including defrauding by false pretences and willfully causing financial loss to the state.
According to Mrs. Baah Mante, the meeting in Osafo-Maafo’s office involved officials from COCOBOD and the Chemistry Department of the University of Ghana.
They deliberated on discrepancies between test results from different institutions regarding the fertilizer.
It was revealed that Osafo-Maafo’s involvement in the prosecution stemmed from a petition he submitted to the police CID in 2017, effectively halting an ongoing EOCO investigation into the matter.
Despite the presence of a substantive Minister of Finance overseeing COCOBOD affairs, Osafo-Maafo’s petition led to the CID taking over the investigation, raising questions about his locus in the matter.
When the investigator was asked about the locus and by what authority Yaw Osafo-Maafo petitioned the police when there was a substantive minister who had oversight on COCOBOD affairs, he replied:
“My Lord, during the transition, investigation of agencies were conducted and on one of this sub committees which did the investigation recommended that investigation should be conducted into the activities of A1 during his tenure as the CEO of Ghana COCOBOD. It is on this basis that the Senior Minister signed this petition.”
The trial has drawn attention to Osafo-Maafo’s active involvement in COCOBOD affairs and his niece’s role as a prosecutor, adding complexity to the legal proceedings.
The revelations underscore the significance of the 2017 meeting convened by Osafo-Maafo, which followed conflicting test results regarding the efficacy of the lithovit fertilizer.
Mrs. Baah Mante clarified that her department’s testing confirmed the presence of essential nutrients in the fertilizer, consistent with fertilizer standards.
However, the absence of specific cocoa fertilizer standards in Ghana prevented a conclusive assessment of its suitability for cocoa.
The testimony sheds light on the standards development process at the Ghana Standards Authority, emphasizing stakeholder involvement and adherence to international standards.