The cause led by Asante Akyim North Member of Parliament, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, to get the Finance Minister resign or be sacked from his position, will go down in Ghana’s history as one of the forces in the country’s quest to surge on her democratic trajectory.
The statement from private legal practitioner, Martin Luther Kpebu, is in connection with the report by the Office of the Special Prosecutor which says Mr. Appiah-Kubi did not cooperate in naming the person behind the allegations he made.
Andy Appiah-Kubi had alleged that when they wanted Finance Minister sacked or resign, a certain popular businessman met them and attempted bribing them to stop which. But he said the envelopes that were offered them were rejected.
But Mr. Kpebu has advised that the legislator comes out to respond to the report or ends up foiling his goodwill, without forgetting that those he embarrassed in his course would do everything possible to ensure he looses his seat.
Speaking with Alfred Ocansey on Ghana Tonight on TV3 Wednesday, January 03, 2024, the lawyer said the matter is now unfolding, indicating many more revelations are going to come up following the report by the OSP.
“I can’t in my wildest imagination, see Appiah-Kubi keeping quiet over such statement. He is going to come back responding because that’s in the nature of Appiah-Kubi to take these matters lying down. This certainly will cast a certain image on his reputation if he doesn’t respond. So I suspect that there will be more on this story that is why I said that the story is still unfolding,” he said.
He also explained why it would be in the interest of the MP to respond to the report considering the blow the cause he championed brought to the president and how it daunted the entire government.
“…And it’ll be good for Appiah-Kubi to respond because for that fatal blow that Mr. Appiah-Kubi and the rest dared the President where they embarrassed the President saying he has been very obstinate, he will not sack Ofori-Atta, he will not do any reshuffle. But that revolt in Parliament, that heroic feat lead by Appiah-Kubi will go down in our history as quite a seminal moment in our democracy in our forward march that there were some MPs who had the courage to be able to stand up to the President and to be able to tell him that he was governing badly that he was misleading so knowing that he has given the President such a blow, I am looking at everything in the context that everything would be done to bring Appiah-Kubi down to make sure that he doesn’t retain his seat so let Appiah-Kubi come and respond so we take it from there,” he held.
Background
The Special Prosecutor (SP) has directed the closure of investigations into allegations that was made by Mr. Appiah-Kubi. According to William Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor, proceeding with investigations will not yield the desired results.
A report by the OSP dated Thursday, December 28, 2023 said in parts that, “…the Special Prosecutor directs the closure of the investigation in respect of allegations that a well-known and wealthy businessman attempted to bribe a section of the majority caucus of Parliament. The Special Prosecutor determines that the institution of criminal proceedings, at this time, against the OSP’s identified suspect would serve no useful purpose.”
The SP stated that, “the investigation may be re-opened should the circumstances and further facts so dictate.”
“This report is founded on regulation 31(1)(g) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Operations) Regulations, 2018 (L.I. 2374), which mandates the OSP to publish detected acts of corruption through the receipt, collection, or collation of reports, documents, materials, complaints, allegations, information and intelligence,” he wrote.
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