The former Special Prosecutor, Martin A. B. K. Amidu has accused his successor Kissi Agyebeng of scandalizing the administration of justice through his press conference organized on Wednesday, November 29 2023.
In a long tale of criticisms against the conduct of the Special Prosecutor, the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice under the late Professor Atta Mills administration asserted that the Special Prosecutor only exercises an ‘infinitesimally’ small fraction of the delegated investigatory and prosecutorial powers of Attorney-General which deal with corruption and corruption-related offence and hence cannot do or be allowed to do what the delegating authority cannot do.
According to him the press conference organized by the Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng only sought to maliciously incite the media and the public against the judicial branch of government and bring the administration of justice into disrepute before ordinary members of the public and the world.
He noted that the actions of Mr. Kissi Agyebeng crossed the ‘red line’ of freedom of speech and expression as it sought to subvert the letter and spirit of the 1992 Constitution.
“In whatever dress or apparel or form the Special Prosecutor clothed his intended performance on the front stage of the play to his audience at the press conference, one purpose stands out.
The media briefing was first and foremost intended to heap scurrilous abuse on and scandalize the court and judge who ruled on the certiorari and other applications in the case of the Republic v the Special Prosecutor and Another, Ex Parte Col. Kwakwo Damoah and Another delivered by the High Court (General Division 5), Accra, on 27 November 2023.“The secondary purpose was to use that occasion to scurrilously abuse and scandalize the judiciary and the administration of justice and bring them into disrepute before the eyes of ordinary members of the public, generally in an attempt to coerce the judiciary, and particularly the Court of Appeal before which appeals from the OSP are pending, and the Supreme Court before which the OSP’s application for certiorari was pending to decide those cases in its favour”.
Martin A. B. K. Amidu
Furthermore, Mr Amidu argued that as a public officer, the conduct and performance of the Special Prosecutor were inconsistent with and contravened Article 127 of the 1992 Constitution which guarantees the independence of the judiciary in the exercise of the judicial power in both its judicial and administrative functions from control and direction of any person or authority.
He also noted that the Special Prosecutor who is a member of the executive branch of government equally failed in its constitutional duty to protect the independence, dignity, and effectiveness of the courts by ‘scurrilously’ abusing and scandalizing the courts and the administration of justice through his press conference.
“More particularly, the conduct and performance of the Special Prosecutor at his orchestrated rented press or media briefing or conference violated clause 2 of Article127 which states clearly that: Neither the President nor Parliament nor any other person whatsoever shall interfere with Judges or judicial officers or other persons exercising judicial power, in the exercise of their functions; and all organs and agencies of the state shall accord to the courts such assistance as the courts may reasonably require to protect the independence, dignity and effectiveness of the courts, subject to this Constitution.
“Quite apart from Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor, being an integral part of the executive branch he intentionally and deliberately summoned the media at public expense to directly and indirectly bring undue pressure to bear on judges in the exercise of their judicial power and function”.
Martin A. B. K. Amidu
Martin Amidu Calls For Impeachment Of Special Prosecutor
Moreover, the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice called for the impeachment of the Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng as according to him, the conduct of Mr Kissi Agyebeng brought the administration of justice and the judicial branch into disrepute.
He indicated that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who is appointed under the Legal Service Act 1993 (Act 320) would have been subjected to disciplinary proceedings for misconduct meriting dismissal from office if he or she called a media conference and said the same things the Special Prosecutor said at the press conference of 29 November 2023.
According to Mr Amidu, he would have insisted on the initiation of such disciplinary proceedings or initiated proceedings against a Director of Public Prosecutions who ‘dared’ to hold a media briefing to win ‘public sympathy’ for an unfavourable decision by the courts instead of exhausting the appellate procedure required by law if he is the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
He thus urged all patriotic citizens to protect the 1992 Constitution and the sanctity and independence of the judiciary to invoke the provisions of Section 15(3) of Act 959 for the removal of the Special Prosecutor from office.
“Ghanaians have to decide whether we want an independent and impartial judiciary which is enshrined under the 1992 Constitution or we want a rogue Special Prosecutor who intentionally violates provisions of the Constitution and the law governing his tenure as a public officer. There is no way Ghana is going to survive should Kissi Agyebeng succeed in using public funds and resources to incite the public to bring the image and integrity of the judiciary down before ordinary right-thinking members of the society as he did on 29 November 2023”
Martin A. B. K. Amidu
In conclusion, Mr Amidu emphasized that the removal of the Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng from office will protect the judicial branch and the security of the country.
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