Daniel Yaw Domelevo, a former Auditor-General, has expressed reservations about the Special Prosecutor’s recent complaints about the Judiciary, saying the act puts the third arm of government in a bad light.
The Special Prosecutor at a press conference in Accra Wednesday, November 29, 2023, accused the Judiciary of being hasty in dismissing cases filed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor due to the disregard of the Office’s powers.
He said the development is inimical to the fight against corruption since the OSP’s failure in fighting corruption is a failure for the whole nation.
Mr. Domelevo, reacting to the issue Thursday, November 30, 2023, said the OSP’s action is not a good reflection on the image of the Judiciary.
“In my considered opinion, it doesn’t reflect positively on the image of the judiciary because some of us are not lawyers so they can pardon us. As the Office of the President used to say, we think when you go to court you must be looking for justice not just a technicalities.
“So when the law is becoming too technical or so – in the words of the National Security Minister, interpreted in one way such that others can think that no, the judiciary is always for one side of the coin I don’t think it augurs very well for them,” he said.
He added that the judiciary must ensure that the public does not lose confidence in their ability to deliver justice.
“I am not saying that they’re wrong every time they take their decisions, but like Honourable Kan Dapaah said the decisions must be such that we can say ‘oh, this one we agree’ and if we normally agree with them and there are some that we don’t agree with we can give them the benefit of the doubt that maybe it is professional, it is technical, we didn’t understand it.
“But when it is a common sense issue and even we think it doesn’t pass the test of common sense then we wonder how a professional will see it in the future. It affects the fight against corruption seriously because mind you, like I said earlier on, once you start fighting corruption, corruption will fight you.
“And the ultimate place that you go when you’re fighting corruption is the court and if you’re not sure the court is going to do the right thing or support what is right then it becomes a problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Domelevo has asked the OSP to keep up the fight despite the challenges that may come his way.
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