The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has expressed his concern over the judiciary’s actions, which he believes are compromising the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
Agyebeng noted that there has been a concerning trend of dismissive and regressive judicial decisions in cases involving the OSP. He urged the courts to avoid creating unnecessary obstacles in the agency’s work and operations and to instead support its efforts to fight corruption in Ghana.
The Special Prosecutor also highlighted the importance of the judiciary’s role in the fight against corruption, stating that the courts play a critical role in ensuring that justice is served and that corrupt individuals are held accountable for their actions.
Agyebeng’s comments come at a time when the OSP is facing criticism from some quarters over its handling of corruption cases. However, the Special Prosecutor has defended the agency’s work, stating that it is committed to fighting corruption and ensuring that justice is served.
Overall, Agyebeng’s message to the judiciary is clear: the OSP deserves better consideration and respect from the courts, and the judiciary must avoid creating unnecessary obstacles in the agency’s work and operations. By working together, the OSP and the judiciary can help to combat corruption in Ghana and ensure that justice is served.
He said:
“A judge has granted two persons immunity from investigation for suspected corruption and corruption-related offences and hence immunity from prosecution. This decision opens up a calamitous deluge as every person under criminal investigation would be encouraged to take out suits to injunct investigation and prosecution bodies from investigating and prosecuting them. The real and present danger looms largely on the consideration that by so doing, persons under investigation would conscript the judiciary to clothe them with immunity from investigation and prosecution.
” I do not intend to sound as though I am predicting doom. However, with this development, it would not be long, a suspected murderer or armed robber would boldly walk to court with the unthinkable prayer that the court should injunct law enforcement agencies from investigating him. We are not suggesting that the OSP is infallible and that every case brought by the OSP or against the OSP should end in a favourable outcome – no matter how improbable the evidence.
“However, it seems to us that the flagship public agency created by law to fight corruption should receive better regard and consideration by the courts and not the developing trend of dismissiveness and regression without regard to its governing enactments, and certainly not the erection of non-existent hurdles in its work and operations,” he said at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday November 29 while indicating that there appears to be a developing trend of rather regressive and dismissive judicial decisions in respect of cases involving the Office of the Special Procsueirt (OSP).
“In one case, the OSP applied to the High Court for a confirmation of a freezing order in respect of a deceased person’s estate. The judge refused to confirm the order by, in effect, holding that the OSP had come too late since the person of interest had died and that his death had extinguished the enquiry commenced after the occurrence of death.
“The danger of this outcome is obvious. It is to effect that a person may, in his lifetime, acquire property through corruption and then upon his demise happily pass on the corruptly acquired property to his estate and by so doing, extinguish all scrutiny as to the
propriety or otherwise of the acquisition of the property because his corrupt activities were not discovered during his lifetime.
“Indeed I have had several calls from well-meaning lawyers admonishing me that they have heard talk that our friends who have been elevated to the bench and presiding over cases in court do not take very kindly to criticism, especially of the public calling out variety as we do.
“And that if the office persists in the media releases, the judges will gang up against the office and throw out all our cases. Mind you, members of the press, collective admonishing is from very senior and experienced lawyers who are members of the law. Members of the press, my learning of the law for the past 25 years in three different jurisdictions, my teaching and training of lawyers and law students for the past 17 years, my 20-year record at the bar all bear testimony that I will be the last person to lead an institution to attack the judiciary.
“It will be absolutely of no good should it be the case that the OSP is set against the judiciary or that the judiciary is against the OSP. That will surely spell disastrous consequences for this republic, especially in the fight against corruption to the glee of corrupt persons.”
🇬🇭A frustrated Special Prosecutor?
— Kenneth Awotwe Darko (@TheKennethDarko) November 29, 2023
“Very soon, a murderer will boldly walk to the court to seek an injunction.”😳
His Twi saying at the end says it all. 😓 pic.twitter.com/YbUsRq04Rp
