Eric Amoateng

Early life and education

Eric Amoateng was born in Ghana on February 19, 1953. He had his secondary education at Nkoranza Anglican School, Nkoranza, where he passed his O-levels. He then attended Nkoranza Training College, Nkoranza for his A-level education, completing in 1973. He then attended the Nkoranza Teacher Training College, from where he qualified as a teacher. Years later, he attended the University of Ghana, obtaining a diploma in religion in 1992.

Career

Amoateng initially worked as a teacher. He then worked as marketing manager for a company Koajay, that bought and distributed school supplies. Amoateng was also the chief (king) of Amoma, a town in the Kintampo South District of the Brong Ahafo Region, with the title Nana Amoateng Ameyaw II. He is said to have spent lavishly on his people and earned a reputation for philanthropy.

Politics

Eric Amoateng unsuccessfully bid to stand as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP candidate for the Nkoranza constituency in 2000 amidst some controversy. Some were reportedly wary of his affluence. It is also reported that in 2001, Amoateng was once accused of visa fraud. Amoateng renounced his chieftaincy in 2004 in order to stand in the December 2004 parliamentary elections on the ticket of the NPP, adopting Bomini in the neighbouring Nkoranza North constituency in the Nkoranza District of the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana, as his home town. His candidacy for the Nkoranza North constituency was challenged at the Sunyani High Court in 2004 but the case was eventually withdrawn from the court. He won 46.9 per cent of the votes with a margin of 22.3 per cent to become the first ever Member of Parliament for the newly created Nkoranza North constituency, from January 7, 2005.

Arrest, trial and jail

News sources reported that Amoateng was arrested in the United States of America on November 12, 2005. He had travelled to the USA on an Emirates Airline flight to the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) with a friend, Nii Okai Adjei. The trip was ostensibly to buy wrist watches for resale in Ghana with US$9,000 seized from Amoateng. Seven boxes of pottery which had landed at Newark Liberty International Airport from London, destined for JFK a day earlier were found to contain 136 pounds of heroin. The reported street value of the drugs was about US$6 million. Amoateng and Adjei were monitored by security personnel as they took delivery of the cargo and sent it to an American Self-Storage location on Staten Island. They were arrested the next day when they went to inspect the goods. Amoateng apparently unsuccessfully claimed diplomatic immunity following his arrest. They were charged with "conspiracy with intent to distribute heroin".

Eric Amoateng and Nii Okai Adjei initially pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiracy to distribute narcotics when brought to court. Adjei later changed his plea to guilty. Following this, a second charge was brought against Amoateng. In August 2006, a third charge of "distributing a controlled narcotic substance of about a kilogram or more containing heroin" was brought against Amoateng.

On March 19, 2007, Amoateng changed his plea to guilty. He was sentenced on 12 December 2007 to 10 years in jail.

Fallout from arrest

Following his arrest, there was a long debate as to whether Amoateng should still be held as the sitting MP for Nkoranza North. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Chief Whip, maintained that "until the case is disposed off he remains a suspect and that the allegation would have to be substantiated." While the majority leader in parliament announced that the government will hold the fort for the MP, the opposition insisted that a by-election be held to replace him. This went on for more than ten months. One of his sons, Augustine Akwasi Amoateng, defended his father's innocence in April, 2006. Amoateng eventually sent a letter of resignation around May 2006 to parliament but this was thrown out on procedural grounds. The Speaker of Parliament, Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes, directed on January 30, 2007, that the question of Amoateng's long absence from parliament be revisited. He however sent a resignation letter dated 4 February 2007 to the speaker of the Parliament of Ghana which was accepted.

By-elections were finally held on March 13, 2007, to replace Amoateng, 16 months after his arrest. The seat was won by a retired army major, Derek Oduro who was sworn in on March 21, 2007.

Trivia