Ransford Edward Van Gyampo, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Ghana is worried over the numerous “work-in-progress” at the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) outfit.
Rather than devoting time and energy to focus on a particular case to bring it to finality, Prof. Gyampo says the OSP has rather chosen to get involved in every bit of a trending issue which has so far not yielded any results.
Speaking on TV3’s the KeyPoints Saturday, December 09, 2023, Prof. Gyampo said “you don’t fight corruption by pussyfooting it. You make sure you are handling one particular matter, handle it with seriousness, with focus, and ensure that there is finality. I don’t know a case that the OSP has finished handling. Every now and then, the OSP is doing something and it will not finish.”
He cited the cases of a politician who contested elections and distributed items to the electorates and demanded them back after losing the poll, together with another who shared bicycles to the electorates at broad day, making him describe the OSP’s as an institution that indulges in “trial in perpetuity, he doesn’t finish anything.”
“He is always doing work-in-progress” Prof. Gyampo said, advising Kissi Agyebeng that, the “the fight against corruption is not ‘mouth mouth’. It’s not about talking and being heard.”
The Professor’s next line of comments suggested a state of disappointment in Mr. Agyebeng, disclosing the hope his appointment brought to some Ghanaians and how things have turned out to be afterwards.
“When he was appointed, the way and manner he spoke, suggested to some of us that he was going to perform some magical work to bring even the Judicial arm of government under his control. Didn’t he know that if you go to court that are some processes that you to be resorting to and sometimes it drags, sometimes it delays and today he is out there in his capacity as a senior lawyer now speaking against the courts,” he indicated.
Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor (SP), asked the Judiciary to desist from preventing his outfit in discharging its responsibilities. He has asked judges to dispassionately consider cases from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) that are brought before them.
In an address to the media Wednesday, November 29, 2023, Mr. Agyebeng told the judges that, “let us bring before you the body of our investigation as evidence. If you look at it, and you decide that the evidence does not shore up to the standard of proof required in criminal cases, you can dismiss it but don’t prevent us from doing our work, from investigating. It is dangerous.”
His comments came after an Accra High Court had cleared a former Commissioner of Customs Division at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Colonel Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd) and a former Deputy Commissioner of the Division, Joseph Adu Kyei of any wrong doing over the Labianca report in which the OSP accused them.
This caused the OSP to release a statement saying it disagrees with the ruling, stating that “it will not permit this decision to stand.”
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