Why the brother of Ghana's ex president has become a symbol of the country's divisive politics

Micheal Ibrahim Mahama, the half-brother of Ghana's ex-president John Dramani Mahama is a very successful businessman with businesses across various sectors from mining, construction and poultry to real estate. He is on record to have said he employs over 5,000 people and has plans of expanding his empire to include cement manufacturing.

His last name and political connections like others before in Ghana's crony filled political space, however, seem to have put him in the cross hairs of the new government as one of his mining companies is battling a government agency over the legality of its licence.

It is not the first time Ibrahim has been in the eye of a political storm.

Ibrahim Mahama was at the centre of a headline-grabbing import duty scandal which persisted in the media landscape for a long period.

Two of his companies, MBG Limited and Holman Brothers were accused of tax evasion and underpayment of duty at Ghana's Tema port.

The Ghana Revenue Authority revealed MBG Limited owed it GHS13.15 million and Holman Brothers also owed GHS3.71 million in duties.

Ibrahim Mahama, who heads private engineering firm, Engineers & Planners, was on April 18, 2017, picked up by EOCO(Economic and Organised Crimes Office) for allegedly issuing dud cheques to the Customs Unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority to defray the debts. One of the cheques had the amount of GHS10, 216,258.47 and the second GHS2, 176,544.61.

In February 2017, Ibrahim Mahama and a close associate of the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, Ali Seidu, were hauled before EOCO over the corruption scandal that hit the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).The two businessmen were summoned as part of a probe into the activities of sacked CEO of the COCOBOD, Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni.

EOCO’s initial investigations are believed to have fingered the two in some deals at the organisation managing cocoa purchase and production in Ghana.

The Lands Ministry through the Forestry Commission issued a license to Exton Cubic Group Limited to mine bauxite in the region on June 20, 2017.

The mining company, in turn, engaged Engineers and Planners (E&P), a company owned by Mr Mahama, to use its equipment to undertake a prospective service.

But hours after E&P moved its men and logistics to the site, the police through the Atwima Mponua District Chief Executive (DCE) impounded its equipment, citing improper documentation and unlawful prospecting for bauxite in the Nyinahini Bauxite concession.