Col. Kwadwo Damoah Granted GH¢50m Bail in SML Contract Case

The High Court in Accra has granted bail in the sum of GH¢50 million with two sureties to the Member of Parliament for Jaman South, Colonel Dr. Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd.), in the ongoing Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) contract case.

Dr. Kwadwo Damoah, a former Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) was admitted to bail after pleading not guilty to all charges preferred against him by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

He is the sixth accused person in the case, Republic v Ofori-Atta & 7 Others, in which eight accused persons are standing trial on a total of 78 counts.

Col. Damoah is answering to eight substantive charges and two conspiracy charges.

Bail Conditions

Under the bail terms imposed by the court, Col. Damoah is required to execute a GH¢50 million bail with two sureties; deposit his passport and other travel documents at the Registry of the court and to ensure that his sureties deposit copies of their Ghana Cards at the court Registry. Also should be placed on the Ghana Immigration Service stop list at all points of entry and exit and report to the lead investigator once every week.

However, the court ordered that the execution of these bail conditions be suspended until December 31, 2025 to enable the sixth accused person to secure the required sureties.

In the interim, Col. Damoah is to remain on the bail terms earlier imposed on him by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

Court Proceedings

During proceedings, the prosecution, led by Adelaide Kobiri for the OSP, informed the court that the first and second accused persons were absent, noting that mutual legal assistance proceedings were being used to notify them to appear before the court.

With respect to Col. Damoah, the prosecution indicated that although he was absent at the previous sitting, his counsel had appeared in protest, pursuant to Article 117 of the Constitution. Kobiri prayed the court to take his plea, which was subsequently done.

Counsel for the accused urged the court to grant bail, arguing that Col. Damoah is not a flight risk and is a serving Member of Parliament.

While the prosecution did not oppose bail, it initially objected to granting him additional time to meet the bail conditions.

The court, nonetheless, granted bail with the suspension of execution until the end of 2025.

Other Orders

The court further directed the prosecution to file disclosures and witness statements and serve them on the accused persons at least two clear days before the next adjourned date for Case Management Conference (CMC).

Additionally, the third to eighth accused persons were ordered to file the names and addresses of witnesses they intend to rely on, and to file witness statements if they so wish, at least two clear days before the next hearing.

The case has been adjourned to January 29, 2026 for CMC.

Background

Col. Damoah has been charged alongside former Finance Minister Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta and seven others over alleged financial loss to the state, exceeding GH¢1.4 billion arising from revenue assurance contracts awarded to Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).

The other accused persons include Emmanuel Kofi Nti and Rev. Ammishaddai Owusu Amoah, both former Commissioners-General of the GRA; Isaac Crentsil, former Commissioner of Customs; Ernest Darko Akore, a former aide to Mr. Ofori-Atta; Evans Adusei, Chief Executive Officer of SML and SML and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited itself.

In a charge sheet signed by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, it was alleged that the accused persons engaged in a “criminal enterprise” beginning in 2017 to use the SML contracts to defraud the state.

According to the OSP, the contracts were secured through “self-serving patronage and promotion” based on false and unverified claims, with no genuine need for the services purportedly rendered by SML.

The alleged acts, the OSP said, resulted in an estimated financial loss to the Republic of GH¢1,436,249,828.53.All accused persons with the exception of Ofori Atta and Ernest Darko Akore, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

 

 

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