The Suame Lawmaker, John Darko, has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of trying to collapse the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
He says they are doing exactly that by getting someone to the High Court to secure a judgment that takes away the prosecutorial powers of the OSP.
He said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, April 18, that “It is their wish to collapse the OSP, and that is what they are doing.
“The so-called Apostles of ORAL are the ones clamouring for the sacking of Kissi Agyebeng.”
John Darko further accused the judge who handled the case of the prosecutorial powers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor of erring in his judgment.
The High Court in Accra, on Wednesday, April 15, ordered the Attorney-General’s Department to take over all ongoing prosecutions being handled by the OSP until the Office secures the constitutionally required authorisation to prosecute independently.
The ruling follows a legal challenge by Peter Archiblod Hyde, an accused person in an OSP-led case, who argued that the Office lacked the authority to prosecute without express approval from the Attorney-General. The court held that the OSP failed to demonstrate that it had obtained such authorisation.
But speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, April 18, John Drako said, “The judge was wrong. He sought to run down the OSP, arrogate onto himself powers he doesn’t have.”
For his part, Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu said that he wants the Office of the Special Prosecutor to remain.
He said his issues with the OSP have to do with the Special Prosecutor and the entire office.
Also speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, April 18, Martin Kpebu noted that there are issues against Kissi Agyebeng because of misgovernance at the OSP.
“As for that office, I want it to remain. I am not taking an entrenched, it is a debate. Let the Supreme Court decide. We are where we are today because there is a groundswell of opposition against Kissi Agyebeng because of the bad governance”
Also speaking on the same issue on the same show, CEO of Ghana Shippers Authority, Professor Ransford Gyampo, said that the legal contradictions in respect of the prosecutorial powers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor cannot be glossed over.
He said that despite the quest to fight corruption, these legal contradictions cannot go unattended.
Prof Gyampo called for a dispassionate discussion of issues on the powers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
He noted that some have attached emotions to discussions about the court judgment against the OSP.
“The reality is settling in; we are all tired of corruption, but at the same time, we must not be oblivious to the contradictions that confront us.
“What has happened has generated a lot of public discussion on this. Some are being dispassionate, others are being emotional. We cannot fight corruption, legal contradictions that exist,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, April 18.
