Veteran human rights lawyer Kwabla Senanu, legal representative for the late former Deputy Minister of Finance, Victor Selormey, has recounted how Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a prominent member of the New Patriotic Party, repeatedly turned down multiple requests for the late deputy minister to receive treatment abroad.

Victor Selormey stood trial and was convicted by a court on charges related to financial impropriety during his tenure as Deputy Minister of Finance under Jerry John Rawlings government.

In a detailed post shared by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Edudzi Tameklo and ascribed to him, the legal practitioner alleged that despite a referral from the High Court based on an application requesting medical treatment for the late Selormey in the USA due to his pacemaker malfunctioning, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng rejected the application.

According to him, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, a cardiologist and head of the cardio department at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, who later became the Chief Executive Officer, rejected the request on two grounds. He questioned why the pacemaker surgery had been conducted abroad and raised concerns about the need for Selormey to receive treatment from medical specialists in the USA when Ghana had equivalent facilities and specialists capable of treating him.

“Midway through the trial, l had applied to the high court to allow Selormey to travel to the USA to be attended to by the medical specialists who gave him the heart pacemaker that needed replacement due to its dysfunction after its use for years on end without maintenance. When the judge referred my application to the cardiologist, Professor Frimpong-Boateng, a leading member of the NPP, he cursorily turned down the cross-border referral of the case to the USA on two grounds,” he recounted.

In his explanation to Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, the lawyer clarified that the pacemaker surgery had been performed in the United States because the former statesman had suffered a cardiac arrest while on state duty in that country.

“First, he queried why the surgery for the pacemaker was done in the USA. I countered his query by informing him that, long before the Kufuor era, Selormey had a massive heart attack while on Ghana government business in the USA. The pacemaker was an emergency measure that saved his life at the time and for many years thereafter,” he continued.

He added, “The second objection by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng was that Ghana had the facilities to treat Selormey while he was standing trial at the Fast Track High Court. I firmly disagreed with him and told him so, given the massive painful bleeding that my client, Selormey, was experiencing from the pacemaker into his entire bodily system, despite his care at the Korle Bu Cardio Centre. It was so bad that he was defecating buckets of blood full of puss at the time.”

Senanu maintained that his pleas and explanations had no impact on the cardiologist, who ultimately rejected the request.

He added that this decision directly contributed to his client's death, as the late Selormey was unable to receive the proper care for his condition.

The lawyer attributed his client's death to a political vendetta by the successive government, suggesting it was a retaliation against the previous administration.

“Professor Frimpong-Boateng never budged, leading to the death of my client. I broke the news to the court soon after the horrific death of my client. Clearly, my client, Selormey, suffered his horrific demise due to political vendetta on the part of the Kufuor government,” he indicated.

Who is Victor Selormey

Born Victor Lawrence Kwashie Selormey, the economist who served as Deputy Minister of Finance under Jerry John Rawlings's government, was convicted by a court on charges related to financial impropriety.

He was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment in 2001 for defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss to the state.

To some advocates of accountability, the case of Victor Selormey underscores the duty of public officers to manage public resources judiciously.

For others, including his family, his case represents pure political persecution, which ultimately cost him his life.

His prosecution centred around the sale of 60% of GNPC's 40% shareholding in LEEBDA Corporation to an American company, Amromco Energy LLC, for $20 million in 1998.

The core of the allegations was that LEEBDA Corporation did not exist at the time of the supposed sale, and thus, no shares could legally be sold.

The prosecution argued that Selormey and others conspired to defraud the state by selling shares of a non-existent company, claiming that no such company was registered in Delaware, USA, where LEEBDA was supposedly incorporated.

The defense contended that LEEBDA did exist but had been dissolved before the transaction was completed. They argued that Selormey was unaware of LEEBDA's dissolution at the time of the deal.

Furthermore, they claimed that crucial evidence was withheld by the prosecution, which would have shown that LEEBDA indeed existed at one point.

The trial and conviction of Victor Selormey remain controversial due to claims that the prosecution withheld evidence like documents from Delaware confirming LEEBDA's existence, potentially exonerating Selormey or at least providing a different perspective on his actions.





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