Kumasi: The Kumasi High Court has acquitted and discharged Mr. Alexander Kwabena Sarfo-Kantanka, President Akufo-Addo’s 2021 nominee for Juaben Municipal Chief Executive in the Ashanti Region. The Court determined that the video evidence presented did not demonstrate him giving money to influence assembly members.
According to Ghana News Agency, in September 2021, Mr. Sarfo-Kantanka faced accusations of attempting to bribe 26 members of the Juaben Municipal Assembly to secure his nomination. In response to these allegations, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) launched an investigation on November 2, 2021. Subsequently, on May 24, 2022, the OSP charged Mr. Sarfo-Kantanka with 26 counts of corruption, to which he pleaded not guilty on June 29, 2022.
The trial commenced at the Kumasi High Court on October 20, 2022, with the OSP closing its case on July 13, 2023. Mr. Sarfo-Kantanka filed a submission of no case on November 6, 2023, but the OSP responded on November 29, 2023. The Court dismissed his submission of no case on April 9, 2024.
Following the dismissal, Mr. Sarfo-Kantanka appealed to the Court of Appeal in Kumasi and sought a stay of proceedings at the Kumasi High Court, both of which were rejected. The legal proceedings extended over a period of two years and 11 months.