Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United States, Victor Smith, has revealed that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta was medically assessed and declared fit for detention by health professionals attached to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before his eventual admission to a medical facility.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, Mr Smith disclosed that following Mr Ofori-Atta’s arrest, ICE followed standard protocol by arranging for qualified medical personnel to examine him to determine whether he was medically suitable to remain in a detention centre.

“Yes, the ICE people confirmed that he was all right. Initially, they had medical people to determine whether he was fit to be held in the detention centre, and they were convinced and were assured that he was okay,” Mr Smith stated.

According to the High Commissioner, although the former finance minister was on medication, he was not under active medical supervision at the time of his detention and had access to his prescribed drugs while in ICE custody.

“He was on medication, but he wasn’t seeing any doctor at the time, and he had his medication, so he could be put in the detention centre,” he explained.

Mr Smith emphasised that the medical assessment was conducted strictly by health professionals, not ICE officers, stressing that detainees with serious medical conditions are typically referred to external healthcare facilities.

“They had caused him to be assessed by the medical personnel, not themselves. If he had any serious medical conditions, maybe they would have referred him to a medical facility outside the detention centre,” he added.

Consular Access Denied

The High Commissioner further revealed that the Ghanaian Embassy in Washington, D.C., made attempts to secure consular access to Mr Ofori-Atta following his arrest, in line with international diplomatic protocols. However, those efforts were unsuccessful after the former minister declined to meet embassy officials without his lawyers present.

“I discussed it with the consular officers of my embassy, and we decided to make a request to make sure that he was being treated properly, as per international protocols,” Mr Smith said.

Although ICE initially agreed to allow the embassy to visit Mr Ofori-Atta, the arrangement was later reversed.

“Just before we set out, the ICE agents came again and said the detainee had refused to meet with us without his lawyers,” he disclosed.

After several hours of waiting, embassy officials received a final response from ICE.

“After about a few hours, they came back to us to say the detainee, being the ex minister, had refused now to see us under any circumstances,” Mr Smith added.

He described the refusal as disappointing, particularly because no one had visited the former finance minister at the time. Mr Smith also revealed that ICE officers personally visited his office to formally communicate the development.

The disclosure provides clarity on the circumstances surrounding Mr Ofori-Atta’s detention and medical status, amid growing public and political interest in the case both in Ghana and abroad.