A group of Ghanaians, led by Apostle Abraham Lincoln Larbi and a private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has staged a protest in Accra demanding the removal of Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng from office over what they describe as his failure to deliver on his mandate.
The group insists that President John Dramani Mahama must either terminate the appointment of the Special Prosecutor or dissolve the office entirely, claiming it is not serving the purpose for which it was established.
Speaking to the media during the protest, Martin Kpebu accused Kissi Agyebeng of not being truthful to Ghanaians, alleging that he connived with former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to enable him to leave the country.
Mr Kpebu said several claims made by the Special Prosecutor regarding attempts to seek assistance from state institutions to arrest the former minister have all turned out to be false.
“He claimed that before Ofori-Atta travelled, he saw a letter the former minister wrote to both the outgoing chief of staff and the incoming chief of staff. How do you see such a letter?”
Mr Kpebu added that Mr Agyebeng had also claimed he went to the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) to seek assistance but did not receive help. “It has turned out to be false. He didn’t go to NIB,” he said.
“He said he went to Immigration to seek help and didn’t get help. It has turned out to be false. He said he went to National Security for assistance to arrest Ofori-Atta and again claimed he didn’t get help. It has turned out to be false,” Kpebu continued.
He argued that these contradictions undermine the special prosecutor’s credibility.
“So when your Special Prosecutor comes to lie to Ghanaians that he was attempting to arrest Ofori-Atta, and yet he has no evidence, and the state institutions are denying it, that alone is sufficient grounds for Kissi Agyebeng to resign,” he stressed.
Mr Kpebu further invoked Ghana’s constitutional principle of sovereignty. “The constitution says that sovereignty resides in the people of Ghana. That is the centre of our constitution. The thing that holds our constitution together is the principle that ultimate power belongs to the people,” he explained.
He added that under this principle, public officials must be accountable directly to the citizenry.
“So once Ghanaians are the sovereign, if you are running a public institution and anybody is frustrating you—assuming without admitting that anyone is frustrating you, you must report to the people of Ghana so that they, as the owners of power, will know what to do,” he said.
“In this case, Kissi Agyebeng should have organised a press conference to inform Ghanaians that NIB, National Security, and Immigration were frustrating him,” Mr Kpebu concluded.
Apostle Abraham Lincoln Larbi also appealed to the President to act swiftly, stressing that restoring public confidence in anti-corruption institutions is essential. He warned that if authorities fail to intervene, the group will escalate its efforts to compel the special prosecutor to resign.
Receiving the protesters’ petition on behalf of the Presidency, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Shamima Muslim commended the group for peacefully exercising their constitutional rights.
“I am very happy when citizens mobilise to exercise their constitutional rights to freedom of expression,” she said. “His Excellency has assured all citizens, regardless of political persuasion, that no one should feel fearful in expressing their rights. Your demonstration today is an activation of our living constitution. You are welcome, and we are happy to receive your petition.”
Removal process
The Act establishes the Office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute corruption cases, and recover proceeds of corruption
The removal of a Special Prosecutor in Ghana will follow a process initiated by a petition to the President, who must refer it to the Chief Justice within seven days.
The Chief Justice then determines if there is a prima facie case within 30 days, and if so, sets up a committee to investigate and make a recommendation to the President within 90 days.
The President is then required to act according to the committee’s recommendation.
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