Kwaku Ansa-Asare
A former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare says the Special Prosecutor (SP), Kissi Agyebeng, is being used for political purposes and should therefore resign.
Speaking in an interview with a local radio station, he said the SP has failed the nation due to his inability to be independent and make decisions for himself and the office.
“If I were in the shoes of the Special Prosecutor, I would be the first person, in good conscience, to resign. Somebody is using him. We should stop this kind of politics. Who influences people in this country? Is it not those at the helm of affairs? This is barbaric. What the Special Prosecutor has done is uncivilised and he must be told so in plain language,” he said.
His comment is in reaction to the Special Prosecutor’s declaration of former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta as a fugitive in connection with financial loss to the state.
He also said the decision to declare the former Finance Minister a ‘fugitive’ contradicts the fundamental principles of the criminal justice system, unorthodox and politically motivated.
“By himself, the Special Prosecutor would not do what he has done, he is spineless. He knows that until a person’s guilt is proven, he is innocent. An innocent person cannot be declared a wanted citizen running away from justice and be hounded out and brought back to Ghana in handcuffs,” he added.
Mr. Ansa-Asare stated that power over the criminal justice system ultimately resides in the people, and urged Ghanaians to scrutinise how justice is administered in the country.
He further called on the Special Prosecutor to review Article 19 of the Constitution before embarking on what he described as a “fruitless journey” to secure convictions at all costs.
He further indicated that politicising legal proceedings would not serve the national interest and, therefore, called for a more objective approach to governance and justice.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah