Special Prosecutor, Mr. Kissi Agyebeng, has described Corruption in Ghana as Pandemic and vowed to work assiduously with deliberation to suppress and repress corruption in Ghana to its barest minimum.
He told President Akufo-Addo in Jubilee House that “The zeal with which your administration has approached the fight in respect of the health crisis, I also see in respect of the other pandemic which is corruption,”.
Speaking after he was sworn in at the Jubilee House, Mr. Kissi Agyebeng reiterated that he cannot stop corruption but will make it a costly venture.
During his vetting, Mr. Agyabeng said “There’s no way I can stop corruption. God Himself will not even acclaim to that. But I’m going to make corruption very costly, very costly to engage in” he stated.
Section 13(8) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) requires the President to appoint a person qualified for appointment as Special Prosecutor within six months of the Office becoming vacant.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has the mandate to investigate and prosecute all suspected corruption and corruption-related offenses as public officers, politically exposed persons, and persons in the private sector alleged to have been involved in any corruption and corruption-related offenses.
Apart from initiating investigations on its own, Act 959 gives the Office of the Special Prosecutor the power to receive and investigate complaints of alleged corruption from the public or investigate suspected corruption or corruption-related offenses upon referral from public bodies such as the Attorney General’s Department, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
Mr. Agyebeng has been a lecturer since October 2006, teaching and researching Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Corporate Law, and Legal Research and Writing until he is appointed SP.
A Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Jonathan Asante Otchere, has cast doubt on the ability of Special Prosecutor-nominee Kissi Agyebeng to be able to deal decisively with corrupt cases especially ones involving members of the ruling government without fear or favor.
Mr. Asante Otchere fears that the current arrangement where the appointment is left to the sole dictate of the Executive and not without any knows consideration to an independent body only “shows that government is not committed to the fight against corruption”.
“Why should a country that is so serious to fight corruption…leave your Special Prosecutor to be nominated by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General? Where will his independence lie…? I was expecting that such a person, first of all, the President could mandate the Council of State to nominate 3 people. When the interviews are done and they bring their [results], then the President can nominate one, so that the person can be independent-minded.”
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com
