President Akufo-Addo, says the appointment of Martin Amidu, as Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor, will deny persons, who will be investigated and prosecuted for engaging in acts of corruption, the often-cited refrain of witch-hunting.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “we have a particular problem in Ghana which is that, every time a prosecution is mounted against a high ranking official, you hear the cry witch-hunting. It has become a way of protest for senior political figures.â€
Akufo-Addo explained that “we have now had to devise particular responses and mechanisms (to the cry of witch-hunting). We have established an Office of Special Prosecutor. The Special Prosecutor is a permanent official who is independent of the Executive, who will hold all officials, past and present, accountable for their stewardship.â€
President Akufo-Addo made this known on Sunday, July 1 2018, when he made an intervention at the plenary session of the 31st African Union Summit, which is being held on the theme “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable path to Africa’s Transformationâ€, in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Reiterating the commitment of his government to ensuring that “equality before the law means exactly just that, equality before the lawâ€, President Akufo-Addo was unequivocal that regardless of one’s status in society, “when we get into problems of wrongdoing, we should face the consequencesâ€.
Describing Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, as having “a high reputation on his stance on corruption and (being) a figure of integrityâ€, the President noted that Mr Amidu was a former Attorney General in the government of the 3rd President of the 4th Republic, the late John Evans Atta-Mills.
"If he (Martin Amidu) then puts you in his gaze for an act of wrongdoing, that charge of witch-hunting will no longer be available. We believe that that is a very important step, which will make sure that the principle of equality before the law is made meaningful."