Correction: Captain Kojo Tsikata

On 18 June 1992, we published an article about the forthcoming elections in Ghana. The article referred to the kidnap and murder of three Ghanaian High Court Judges in June 1982 and reported the recommendation of a Special Investigation Board, appointed by the Ghanaian Government and chaired by a former Chief Justice of Ghana, that 10 people, including Captain (retired) Tsikata, should be prosecuted in relation to the murders, as well as the Board's finding that Captain Tsikata had "masterminded" the plot. At the time, Captain Tsikata was head of security and foreign affairs in the Ghana government.

The article went on to state that "five people were prosecuted and executed, but not Captain Tsikata". Whilst we fairly and accurately reported the former Chief Justice's recommendations, it has been drawn to our attention that the Attorney General of Ghana explained in detail his reasons for concluding that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Captain Tsikata. The sole witness against Captain Tsikata subsequently withdrew his accusation just before his execution for the murders. We did not intend to suggest that Captain Tsikata was in fact guilty of these terrible crimes and we regret it if any reader understood that we did.

Captain Tsikata issued proceedings for defamation against The Independent on 26 March 1993. On the basis of the publication of this statement, Captain Tsikata has agreed to discontinue them.