Kumasi High Court clears embattled Juaben MCE nominee under NPP of corruption charges

The Kumasi High Court has acquitted Alexander Kwabena Sarfo Kantanka, President Akufo-Addo’s 2021 nominee for Juaben Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), who was involved in a high-profile bribery and corruption case brought by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The case stemmed from a viral video showing Sarfo Kantanka demanding a refund of money he allegedly gave assembly members to secure their votes after failing to get the two-thirds majority needed for confirmation.

The OSP charged him with 26 counts of election-related corruption, but after a three-year legal battle, the court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the money in question was linked to bribery.

Judgement was initially set for November 28, 2024 but the trial judge, Justice Priscilla Dikro Ofori was transferred.

But because she had submitted a case completion plan before her transfer, she returned to conclude the case and delivered the final verdict, clearing Sarfo Kantanka of all charges, on Monday, May 26, 2025.

“At the end of the full trial, our case has been sustained by the court for which reason my client has been acquitted and discharged. My client maintains his innocence, and the court has rightly affirmed it,” defense counsel, Kwame Adom Appiah stated.

With this ruling, Kantanka walks free, closing a contentious chapter that stalled his political career.