Haruna Mohammed, Deputy General Secretary of Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has criticized the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) report on the Airbus scandal, asserting that it does not hold more weight than a court judgment.
In an exclusive interview with TV3 on August 9, Mohammed contended that the Special Prosecutor’s investigation into the Airbus SE case was insufficient and failed to provide a conclusive pardon for former President John Mahama.
He raised a valid point, questioning the thoroughness of the Special Prosecutor’s investigation and, thus, the authority to clear Mahama of any wrongdoing.
Mohammed emphasized that the OSP’s report, which identified Mahama as “Government Official One” in the scandal, should not be considered as authoritative as a court ruling.
He pointed out that the OSP admitted to not having all the facts necessary to complete the investigation, which raises questions about the thoroughness and reliability of the report.
“I don’t think there is any clearance here,” Mohammed said.
He firmly stated, “The Special Prosecutor’s report, in my view, is not superior to a court judgment.”
The report reflects the opinion of the Special Prosecutor, who stated that he did not have all the facts needed to make a complete determination.
If you don’t have all the facts, how can you determine whether a payment was made?”
The OSP’s report, released on August 8, acknowledged Mahama as ‘Government Official One’ in connection with the Airbus SE case, a high-profile corruption scandal involving the sale of aircraft, based on findings from UK and US courts.
The report confirmed that Mahama was identified as such during their investigations.
“The OSP confirms the identity of the individual described as Government Official One by the UK court and Individual One by the US court as John Dramani Mahama,” the OSP stated in its press briefing.
“He is a citizen of Ghana and served as Vice-President from January 7, 2009, to July 24, 2012.”
