TIG Post

Tag: Special Prosecutor

  • Why did we rush to set up the Special Prosecutor’s office? – Kwesi Pratt queries

    Seasoned Journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has backed Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu’s resignation.

    Mr. Martin Alamisi Burns Kaiser Amidu announced his resignation yesterday.

    Reasons for Resignation

    He forwarded his resignation letter to the President citing lack of operational independence as one of his reasons.

    ”The one condition upon which I accepted to be nominated as the Special Prosecutor when you invited me to your Office on 10th January 2018 was your firm promise to me that you will respect and ensure same by your Government for my independence and freedom of action as the Special Prosecutor,” he stated.

    “I should not ordinarily be announcing my resignation to the public myself but the traumatic experience I went through from 20th October 2020 to 2nd November 2020 when I conveyed in a thirteen (13) page letter the conclusions and observations on the analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessment on the Report On Agyapa Royalties Limited Transactions and Other Matters Related Thereto to the President as Chairman of the National Security Council cautions against not bringing my resignation as the Special Prosecutor with immediate to the notice of the Ghanaian public and the world . . .

    . . The events of 12th November 2020 removed the only protection I had from the threats and plans directed at me for undertaking the Agyapa Royalties Limited Transactions anti-corruption assessment report and dictates that I resign as the Special Prosecutor immediately. Fear is the enemy of change and I am prepared from the vacuum created on 12th November 2020 to meet the threats of my demise as the price to pay for serving my country without fear or favour affection or ill will. I acted professionally throughout in the discharge of my duties and my conscience is the anchor of my strength to face any consequences.”

    He also revealed his appointment letter was given to him in February 2020 which means two years after his appointment by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

    He further stated that he and his Deputy have not received their salaries since assuming office two years ago.

    “It is essential for me to state for the purpose of the records, and contrary to public perceptions, that my appointment letter was received on 5th February 2020 (almost two (2)-years after my appointment). The copy addressees made no efforts to honour any of the conditions of appointment in terms of emoluments and benefits of the appointment ever since my warrant of appointment was issued on 23rd February 2018 to the date of my letter of resignation. I accepted the offer on 10th January 2018 to be nominated to be Special Prosecutor because Mr. President, and Ghanaians knew I have been an anti-corruption crusader all my life and not an anti-corruption entrepreneur.

    ”This explains why I have never put the emoluments and benefits of the Office as central to my commitment and my passion for the establishment of an independent, effective, efficient and impartial anti-corruption Office of the Special Prosecutor before the end of the first term of Mr. President. This has not been possible for several reasons. The Deputy Special Prosecutor has also not been paid any emoluments since her appointment, and there is the need to redress that situation for her now that I am out of the way,” he said.

    Martin Amidu Had No Special Powers

    Addressing the issue during a panel discussion on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, Kwesi Pratt argued that the Special Prosecutor (SP) didn’t have the right to prosecute, believing it’s part of Mr. Martin Amidu’s frustrations.

    He stressed that the power of prosecution is constitutionally vested in the Attorney General which places a limit on the job of the Special Prosecutor and so questioned the logic in setting up the SP’s office if he cannot prosecute people.

    “The right to prosecute is still the preserve of the Attorney General . . . the constitution gives an unfettered right of prosecution only to the Attorney General . . . Article 88 of the constitution, what it states and how; the Special Prosecutor has no special powers beyond the powers of the Attorney General.”

    To Kwesi Pratt, the establishment of the Special Prosecutor’s office was set up in haste.

    “Why did we rush to set up the office of the Special Prosecutor especially as the Special Prosecutor doesn’t wield any special power over the Attorney General? Why the haste? Even when you look at the mode of appointment, it’s the same. So, why did we rush?” he questioned.

    Source: Peace FM

  • Akufo-Addo refutes Special Prosecutors allegations

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has controverted allegations by the country’s first Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, that he (President’s) interfered in his work.

    A nine-paged response issued on Tuesday by Nana Asante Bediatuo, Secretary to the President, in reaction to the issues raised by Mr Amidu in his resignation letter, said his submissions in the letter “was most regrettable” because at no point had the President sought to interfere in his work.

    “At the outset, it must be made clear that throughout your tenure as Special Prosecutor, neither the President nor and member of his government interfered or sought to interfere with your work,” Nana Bediatuo said.

    The President’s response also covered issues on budgetary allocations, financial disbursements and accommodation search made during Mr Amidu’s time as the Special Prosecutor.

    Read full statement HERE:

    Source: GNA

  • Ill respond to your claims Akufo-Addo to Amidu

    President Akufo-Addo says he will, in due course, respond to accusations of interference against him by the ex-Special Prosecutor in his resignation letter.

    Martin Amidu resigned from his post as Special Prosecutor citing interference by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his work.

    “The reaction I received for daring to produce the Agyapa Royalties Limited Transactions anti-corruption report convinces me beyond any reasonable doubt that I was not intended to exercise any independence as the Special Prosecutor in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and recovery of assets of corruption. My position as the Special Prosecutor has consequently become clearly untenable,” a part of the resignation letter said.

    It continued: ”It is essential for me to state for the purpose of the records, and contrary to public perceptions, that my appointment letter was received on 5th February 2020 (almost two (2)-years after my appointment). The copy addressees made no efforts to honour any of the conditions of appointment in terms of emoluments and benefits of the appointment ever since my warrant of appointment was issued on 23rd February 2018 to the date of my letter of resignation.

    Reacting to the claims, the Presidency in a statement said the “President has taken due note of the other matters raised in your letter and the government will issue a statement responding to them in due course.”

    Source: Starr FM

  • Special Prosecutors office limited in its ability to fight corruption Ndebugri

    Legal practitioner, John Ndebugri, has said the law that established the Office of the Special Prosecutor limits its ability to fight graft.

    The former MP for Zebilla told Joy News on Monday, November 16, 2020, that the Special Prosecutor does not have sweeping autonomy as some have suggested.

    “If you look at the Law closely, the Office of the Special Prosecutor was established like a company, which has an executive board with Martin Amidu merely as its CEO, and a CEO cannot override the decisions of the board,” he said.

    “Anybody who says the Office and its laws is meant to fight corruption have a lot of convincing to do in bringing me over to his or her side,” he added.

    His comments come on the back of the decision by Martin Amidu to resign as Special Prosecutor, citing interference in his work as one of the major reasons.

    Mr Ndebugri, who once predicted that Mr Amidu will resign, said Mr Amidu knew he was walking into a landmine when he took the job.

    “At the beginning, I said he walked into a landmine knowingly and my prayer was that he will come out of it safely. I hope he is coming out of it safely,” he said.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Dont trivialize my report on Agyapa – Special Prosecutor hits back

    The Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu has reacted to the response from the presidency on his risk assessment report on the Agyapa Royalties Agreement.

    According to him, his work must be taken seriously and not trivialized.

    The Special Prosecutor in a statement noted that: “I do not intend to be patronized as the Special Prosecutor as Mr. Eugene Arhin appears to have conveyed by the statement issued under his hand. Analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessments are a serious anti-corruption tool with very serious consequences for any country dedicated to fighting corruption and making corruption a high-risk enterprise.

    “The sixty-four (64) page report was analyzed and assessed professionally and referenced with detailed analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessment of the Agyapa Royalties Transactions from which no one can just pick and choose what he wants. The documents and the facts are real and were not manufactured by the Special Prosecutor.”

    “The Office of the Special Prosecutor was either seriously intended to prevent and fight corruption or was only intended as a show piece to be trivialized. The sixty-four (64) page report must be taken seriously to make corruption a very high-risk venture in Ghana,” he added.

    Please real full statement

    Source: rainbowradioonline.com

  • Your assurance you wont sack me needless Amidu hits back at Mahama

    Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has stated that he does not need assurances from Former President John Dramani Mahama that he would not be sacked if he wins the 2020 polls.

    He argues that the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (959) governs the situation and is, therefore, needless for anybody to assume airs about what she or he will do with the Office or Martin Amidu when she or he wins the elections.

    “As the Special Prosecutor, I do not need assurances from anybody of leaving me in Office when she or he wins the elections. The Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (959) governs the situation. In any case, the position of Special Prosecutor is not one of servitude but of service. It is, therefore, needless for anybody to assume airs about what she or he will do with the Office or Martin Amidu when she or he wins the elections”

    According to him, the Office is an independent statutory anti-corruption agency and must be respected as such notwithstanding who for the time being holds the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

    Reacting to recent comments by Mr Mahama on the matter he said “Any Ghanaian worthy of putting himself forward as Presidential candidate for the upcoming elections should know the content of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) by now. He must know by now that under section 4 of Act 959, except as otherwise provided for in the 1992 Constitution, the Office is not subject to the direction or control of a person or an authority in the performance of the functions of the Office even when the Office acts upon the authority of the Attorney- General to initiate and conduct the prosecution of corruption and corruption-related offences. It is also clearly stated that the Board of the Office shall not interfere in the day-to-day functions of the Office. This independence of the Office in the performance of the functions of the Office is reinforced when Act 959 gives the Special Prosecutor full authority and control over the investigation, initiation and conduct of proceedings under subsection (1) of section 3 which spells out the functions of the Office”

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com