Osafo Marfo’s Intrigue in Opuni/Agongo Trial Unveiled Again

In a riveting turn of events within the ongoing trial of former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni, and businessman Seidu Agongo, fresh insights have emerged spotlighting the role played by former Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo, in orchestrating their prosecution.

A report carried by the Herald Newspaper, which has extensively provided coverage of the trial from its onset has revealed that, Mr. Osafo Marfo’s involvement takes on a deeper hue as his niece, Evelyn Keelson, assumes a pivotal role as one of the State Attorneys diligently pursuing the case.

Despite his integral position within the Akufo-Addo government as a Senior Presidential Advisor, revelations in court shed light on a meeting convened by Mr. Osafo-Marfo in his office to deliberate on the contentious lithovit liquid fertilizer at the crux of the trial.

At the high court session presided over by Justice Aboagye Tandoh on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, testimony from Genevieve Baah Mante, Head of the Material Science Department at the Ghana Standard Authority, further unraveled details surrounding a critical meeting held in 2017 within Mr. Osafo Marfo’s office.

This meeting, attended by COCOBOD officials and representatives from the Chemistry Department of the University of Ghana, delved into the discrepancy between two distinct test results on the lithovit liquid fertilizer.

The charges leveled against Dr. Opuni, Alhaji Agongo, and Agricult Ghana Limited span a landscape of 27 accusations, encompassing offenses such as defrauding by false pretenses, willfully causing financial loss to the state, corruption by public officers, and contravention of the Public Procurement Act arising from the procurement of Lithovit Liquid Fertilizer between 2014 and 2016.

The intricate web of connections linking Mr. Osafo Marfo to the COCOBOD affair first surfaced in 2021 when it was unveiled that he had initiated a petition to the police CID, superseding an almost-concluded investigation by EOCO into the lithovit fertilizer purchase.

Notably, Mr. Marfo’s involvement in the COCOBOD saga has evoked widespread astonishment, especially considering his familial connection to Chief State Attorney Evelyn Keelson, who signed the charge sheet instituting legal proceedings against Dr. Opuni and Mr. Agongo.

The recent testimony by Mrs. Genevieve Baah Mante unveiled significant insights into the tumultuous investigative landscape surrounding the lithovit liquid fertilizer case, emphasizing contrasting test results and the absence of standardized specifications for cocoa fertilizer.

As the trial progresses, the shadow of Mr. Osafo Marfo looms large over the proceedings, underscoring a labyrinth of intrigue and political entanglements within the corridors of justice.