The Office of the Vice President has explained why Mr James Keck Osei, the Director of Administration at the Office is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecutor.

A press statement issued by the Vice President’s Secretariat and signed by Augustine Blay, the Secretary to the Vice President, disclosed that, Mr. Keck Osei illegally wrote a letter to the Commissioner of the Ghana Revenue Authority “seeking assistance in clearing 15 containers of rice” imported from Thailand in April 2022.

He falsely claimed in the letter that the Office [of the Vice President] needed the containers of rice for Ramadan festivities.

According to the Secretariat, GRA did not comply with Mr. Keck Osei’s letter but rather informed him that there was another claimant of the rice.

On receipt of this information, Mr. Keck subsequently wrote another letter in July 2022 to withdraw his earlier request but the OSP invited him to assist in investigation.

Mr Keck Osei is among the four, – three public servants and one civil servant– accused by the OSP of failing to declare their income sources.

The others are Issah Seidu, John Abban and Peter Archibald Hyde.

They appeared in court on Monday, February 13, 2023, and three of them were granted bail while one of them failed to appear in court.