President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo formally forwarded a petition for the removal of Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng from office.
The petition as by law required was transmitted to the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
GhnanaWeb can confirm that the petition was submitted to the presidency by Agyebeng’s predecessor and serial critic, Martin Amidu.
Initial reports suggested that Amidu wanted Agyebeng’s removal over procurement breaches and abuse of office by the current occupant of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
Accra-based TV3 has published a summary of the six grounds on which the petition is built.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice, to whom the petition was forwarded for action, has written to the SP for his responses to the allegations for a prima facie status to be determined for further action.
SUMMARY: MARTIN AMIDU’S PETITION FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR FROM OFFICE
1.0 The Petition
Martin Amidu’s petition rests on 6 issues;
Accroachment of Authority
Inducement of Staff from sister law enforcement agencies
Abuse of citizens’ rights through arrests and detention
Abuse of the Judiciary
Procurement breaches
Refusal to comply with RTI requests.
1.1 Accroachment of Authority
Mr. Martin Amidu alleges it is the president who should have appointed staff of the OSP and not the Special Prosecutor. He alleges the SP accroached the powers of the president when he engaged the services of three directors when he did not have a board.
He pointed out in many words that he had mainly sought the secondment of staff to his Office with the approval of the President when he did not have a board. However, Mr. Kissi Agyebeng did not seek approval from the president.
1.2 Inducement of Staff from sister Law Enforcement Agencies
The former Special Prosecutor alleges that the current Special Prosecutor recruited staff from sister law enforcement agencies, particularly the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and the Ghana Police Service by inducing them with higher salaries and higher ranks.
Mr Amidu attached resignation letters he officially obtained from EOCO (marked restricted) of their officials who are now working with the OSP. He also attached RTI requests he made to the Ghana Police Service for names and ranks of officers who have resigned to join the OSP. The police did not provide official resignation letters.
1.3 Abuse of citizens’ rights through arrests and detention
Mr. Martin Amidu alleges that the OSP’s handling of cases involving Madam Cecila Dapaah, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, Col. Damoah and Joseph Adu Kyei (Customs Division of GRA) and Ms. Eunice Jacqueline Buah Asomah-Hinneh (Chief Executive of Labianca and a member of the Council of State) amounted to an abuse of the rights of these citizens through the arrests and detentions made by the OSP.
Mr. Amidu attached the entire court documents filed at the High Court from start to finish of the Cecilia Dapaah case to his petition as an exhibit.
1.4 Abuse of the Judiciary
In a media briefing in November 2023, the Special Prosecutor told the press that there appeared to be a developing trend of rather regressive and dismissal judicial decisions involving OSP cases.
The OSP provided four examples of rulings by the Court that appeared to ignore the law, or reason, or both.
Mr. Martin Amidu alleges that this “criticism” is tantamount to abuse of the Judiciary. He attached an article he wrote on 3 December 2023 criticising the SP as evidence of judicial abuse.
1.5 Procurement Breaches
The former Special Prosecutor alleges that the OSP had breached Procurement rules in its refurbishment of the new office complex and procurement of vehicles.
The only exhibit he attached is an RTI request to the Public Procurement Authority for documentation covering such transactions. PPA denied the request for the information on the basis that they are not OSP.
1.6 Refusal to comply with RTI Requests
Mr. Martin Amidu also alleges that the OSP did not grant him information with several Right to Information requests he placed.
Mr. Amidu requested that the OSP provides him with the appointment letters and salary details of all OSP staff on a pen drive. And details on the specialised vehicles by the OSP.
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