Arise Ghana to picket US Embassy over extradition of Ken Ofori-Atta

Pressure group Arise Ghana has announced plans to embark on an indefinite picketing exercise at the United States Embassy in Accra, beginning Monday, 20 January 2026, to demand the extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta to Ghana to face corruption-related charges.

In a statement, the group said the daily protest will run from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, with an estimated 2,000 Ghanaians expected to participate at the precincts of the US Embassy. Organisers described the action as a patriotic protest aimed at pressing for accountability and justice.

Mr Ofori-Atta has remained in the United States since December 2024, after travelling there to seek medical treatment. He is reported to have undergone treatment for prostate cancer, including a radical prostatectomy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in June 2025.

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His extended stay abroad has coincided with escalating legal proceedings in Ghana. In November 2025, the Office of the Special Prosecutor charged Mr Ofori-Atta in absentia with seventy-eight (78) counts of corruption and corruption-related offences. Prosecutors allege that his actions resulted in an estimated financial loss of $128 million to the state.

Meanwhile, Mr Ofori-Atta has been held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia since 6 January 2026, following concerns raised about his immigration status in the United States.

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Ken Ofori-Atta and seven (7) other individuals are facing a total of seventy-eight (78) charges. Those standing trial include Ernest Darko Akore, aged sixty-seven (67), a former Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Finance; Emmanuel Kofi Nti, aged sixty-six (66), a former Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA); and Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, aged sixty-four (64), also a former Commissioner-General of the GRA.

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Other accused persons are Isaac Crentsil, aged sixty-three (63), a former Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA; Kwadwo Damoah, aged sixty-five (65), another former Commissioner of the Customs Division; and Evans Adusei, aged sixty-two (62), identified as the Chief Executive Officer and principal decision-maker of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).

The company itself, previously known as Strategic Mobilisation Enhancement Limited, has also been listed as an accused entity in the case.