My wife brought me food daily – Tsatsu Tsikata on surviving prison

• Posted on April 22, 2026April 22, 2026
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Legal luminary Tsatsu Tsikata has disclosed how he survived an alleged plot to poison him while he was in prison in 2008, revealing that his wife was warned not to allow him to eat food served there.

Speaking in an interview on Joy TV, he described his time in custody as both sobering and revealing.

Mr Tsikata offered a rare glimpse into the conditions he endured and the fears that surrounded his incarceration after he was found guilty by an Accra Fast Track Court for GH¢230,000 financial loss to the state.

“Life in the prison was sobering in a sense too, that it enabled me to see what a privileged life I had by God’s grace,” he said.

The first head of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) explained that despite the harsh realities of prison life, he had one lifeline: daily meals brought by his wife.

“The fact that my wife could be bringing food to me every day in prison,” he noted, underscoring how critical that support became.

Tsatsu Tsikata then disclosed the warning that changed everything.

“And again, an aspect of this, which I can say, even without having asked my wife’s permission… she had been told from a very dependable quarter that she should not allow me to eat in the prison, because there could be some plans around my eating the food regularly from prison.”

When pressed by the host on whether the warning suggested a poisoning attempt, he confirmed the gravity of the claim.

“That is correct,” he said. “And this was not just told as a little story or a petty gossip. She was told by somebody who knew what he was talking about, and I’m very grateful to that person.”

He declined to name the source of the information, citing safety and broader national sensitivities.

“I would not mention his name for reasons which, in this country, we should understand. I will not… I will never want to mention it,” he stated.

Asked directly if the alleged persecution extended beyond imprisonment to an attempt on his life, Mr Tsikata said: “That’s what we were authoritatively told.”

He said the warning shaped his wife’s actions throughout his incarceration, as she took it upon herself to ensure his safety through the food he consumed.

“And so my wife, daily, was determined, whatever her responsibility, she had her own company to run every day, but she brought me food.”

Mr Tsikata’s account adds a dramatic layer to his well-documented legal battles, raising fresh questions about the extent of the threats he may have faced while serving time.