After nearly two years of trial, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei, and his brother-in-law, Francis Kwaku Arhin, have been discharged by the High Court in Accra.
The decision follows a notification from the Office of the Special Prosecutor, through Principal Prosecutor Adelaide Obiri Wood, expressing the intention to withdraw the case. The charges against the two individuals included 18 counts of using public office for profit and nine counts of directly and indirectly influencing the procurement process to gain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.
Appearing before Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, the prosecutor stated that they had filed fresh charges at a different court and did not intend to prosecute Mr. Arhin in the new case.
Adjei, who served as the CEO of PPA from March 2017 to August 2019, is now expected to face new charges, including eight counts of using public office for profit and indirectly influencing procurement processes to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of procurement contracts.
His dismissal from office came after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo acted on the recommendation of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), following his implication in a video documentary titled “Contract for Sale.”
The withdrawn charges, originally filed in May 2022, were subject to examination during the trial, which included cross-examination of the prosecution's key witness, Manasseh Azure Awuni, who conducted the investigation.
Kwame Acheampong Boateng, counsel for the former PPA CEO, expressed disappointment with the withdrawal, stating, “Having gone through trial we thought the matter would be extremely expeditious.”
The discharge of Adjei and Arhin marks a significant development in the legal proceedings surrounding allegations of misconduct in public office, highlighting the complexities and challenges of prosecuting such cases.