Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has launched a scathing critique of the recruitment practices at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), accusing its current leadership of abandoning the core principles that guided its establishment.
In a strongly worded statement, Amidu argued that the OSP was created to be a flagship anti-corruption agency, requiring employees of the “highest moral character and integrity.”
Amidu revealed that he personally drafted and recommended Regulations 7 and 12 of LI 2373, which were modeled after the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) regulations, to ensure a rigorous vetting process for OSP personnel. “The letter and the spirit animating the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) was to ensure that the flagship anti-corruption agency employed only men and women of the highest moral character and integrity,” he stated.
However, Amidu alleges that the current Special Prosecutor, William Kissi Agyebeng, has deviated from this mandate by substituting proper vetting with unlawful polygraph tests. “Polygraphing citizens of Ghana by public institutions is illegal in Ghana and cannot be a substitute for vetting by the Ghana Police and the NIB,” Amidu asserted.
He emphasized that both he and Agyebeng underwent extensive vetting by the Ghana Police and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) before their parliamentary approval. This process included fingerprinting, background checks in their hometowns, and verification of academic records. “William Kissi Agyebeng, when he was nominated as Special Prosecutor, was requested by Parliament to submit himself to the Ghana Police Administration and the then BNI for vetting before appearing before the Appointments Committee of Parliament,” Amidu recalled.
Amidu challenged the legality and effectiveness of using polygraph tests as a replacement for proper security vetting. He sarcastically suggested that if polygraph tests were sufficient, Parliament might as well install a lie detector machine in its Appointments Committee room to test nominees. “Parliament could have bought a huge polygraph machine and placed it in the Appointments Committee room to test our truthfulness if that was the meaning of vetting under Ghana law,” he remarked.
The former Special Prosecutor’s comments have reignited debates about the integrity of the OSP’s recruitment process and its adherence to legal standards. Amidu’s allegations raise serious questions about whether the current leadership is upholding the principles of transparency and accountability that the OSP was founded upon.
As calls for an investigation grow, the spotlight is now on the OSP to address these concerns and demonstrate its commitment to fighting corruption with the highest ethical standards. For now, Amidu’s revelations have cast a shadow over the agency, underscoring the need for urgent reforms to restore public confidence in its operations.
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