The Director of Legal Affairs for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako is advocating that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) be allowed to carry out its mandate without external interference.
According to him, meddling in the work of the OSP impedes its corruption-fighting role.
Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews on June 10, he said “I think that we should allow the OSP to work. The OSP is a creature of statute. I mean the President had this office as very dear to his heart and for that reason pushed parliament to pass this thing.
“I think the President will be the last person to ensure this office does not work and succeed so I think we should take our time (and) give all the support that he deserves and let him do his work. That is the way, I see it.”
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He continued that when the work of the OSP constantly comes under criticism, it makes it impossible for the body to function independently.
“I don’t think we should sit down and try to vilify the office as if the office is a personal vendetta,” he said.
Mr Nimako’s comments come on the back of the backslash the Special Prosecutor (SP) received from sections of the public after the former chairman of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng revealed that his invite to the OSP ended up as an arrest.
On the back of this, the Director of Legal Affairs said inviting people for questioning was a way to find answers in an investigation hence an invite does not suggest an individual is guilty of an offence.
“If an investigative authority invites you to investigate you on any matter, whether crime or whatever it is, I think that, when you go there with your lawyer as we always do, you are afforded a hearing. If you go there and at the end of the day there is no need to proceed with further investigation, you are let off to go,” he added.
He justified his claims with the assertion that even if Prof Frimpong-Boateng was found guilty of a crime by the OSP, it would still have to go through the courts for prosecution.
For Mr. Nimako, recounting the invitation and subsequent arrest to the media made the story “appear as if somebody is out there to undo him. The investigation does not mean that you are liable.”
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