Martin A. B. K. Amidu
The Supreme Court has struck out the name of Special Prosecutor, Martin A. B. K. Amidu, as a defendant in a suit challenging the eligibility of his age for appointment into the public service.
According to the court, Mr. Amidu, Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor cannot be joined to the suit as a defendant because as established by law, it is the Attorney General that is attached as defendant in cases against the government and public officers.
Mr. Amidu, a former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, who is credited for his crusade against corruption, appeared before the Appointment Committee of Parliament on February 13, 2018, where he was grilled for about six hours.
He was overwhelmingly approved by Parliament on February 20, 2018, to become Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor.
Prior to his appearance before Parliament, Dr. Ayine filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging Mr. Amidu’s age to be appointed as Ghana’s first anti-corruption prosecutor.
Dr. Ayine, who was the Deputy Attorney General under the previous Mahama administration, wants reliefs, including “a declaration that by a true and proper interpretation of Articles 190 (1) (d), 199 (1) (4) and 295 of the 1992 Constitution, the requirement age of all holders of public offices created pursuant to Article 190 (1) (d), is 60 years, anyhow not beyond 65 years.”
The Attorney General’s Office in their response to the suit prayed the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit before it filed by one of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament seeking to stop Martin Amidu from being appointed as Ghana’s first anti-corruption prosecutor.
According to a response filed by Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, the plaintiff’s suit is being “borne out of narrow, inadequate and literal construction of the scope of the application of Article 199 of the Constitution”
He averred that Mr. Amidu is not “a proper party to the suit” as the action seeks to challenge the Attorney General’s decision to nominate Mr. Amidu as the Special Prosecutor and as well as his presentation by the President of the nomination to Parliament to approve.
He stated that the decision to appoint Mr. Amidu were taken in the course of the President and the AG’s official duties and Mr. Amidu can therefore not be a party to the suit. As a result, he prayed the court to dismiss the suit.
The apex court agreed with the Deputy AG and subsequently struck out the name of Mr. Amidu as a defendant in the suit.
Meanwhile, the court has ordered the AG and the applicant to file their memorandum of agreed issues within 14 days.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak