Martin Amidu is Special Prosecutor nominee

President Akufo-Addo has nominated former Attorney General Martin Alamisi Amidu as the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Ghana.

In a short announcement at the Flagstaff House on Thursday, the President said "the Attorney General by a letter Thursday 11th January 2018, addressed to me,  exercised the power of nomination and submitted to me for my acceptance the name of the proposed special prosecutor, I have accepted the Attorney General's nomination and will, in turn, submit for parliament's approval when it reconvenes on the 23rd of January 2018...the name of Martin Alamisi Keiser Amidu to be the first Special Prosecutor"

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Akufo-Addo said he is fully convinced that Martin Amidu, a prominent legal personality who held the high office of the Attorney General of the republic under late President Prof John Atta Mills, has the requisite integrity, competence, courage and independence of character to discharge effectively the responsibility of the office of the Special Prosecutor.

The President recounted how the Supreme Court commended Mr Amidu for his public spiritedness in the case of Amidu vs Attorney General, Waterville and Woyome. The court said, according to Akufo-Addo that "the role of the plaintiff Martin Alamisi Amidu...needs to be highly commended as was done in the lead judgement of the court, the plaintiff, in my [Justice Jones Dotse] opinion, must be highly commended for his vigilante role in protecting the wanton dissipation of the public purse"

Akufo-Addo continued that the court also in a related suit said: " the plaintiff is to be commended for his public spiritedness which has fueled his meticulous and industrious presentation of this case".

The President said he could personally vouch for the integrity and public spiritedness of Mr Martin Amidu even though they have always been on opposite sides politically.

Office of the Special Prosecutor

President Akufo Addo on January 2, 2018, assented the Special Prosecutor Bill.

According to the President, the new law formed part of the most important elements of the NPP's 2016 Manifesto, on which the NPP was elected into office, and it had now found legislative expression.

In an effort to stamp out corruption in the country, Akufo- Addo made a campaign promise in 2016, to create the office of the Special Prosecutor to bring corrupt officials to book.

The bill was then passed by parliament in November 2017 after its third reading.

Purpose of the Special Prosecutor's Office

The Special Prosecutor is a specialized agency to investigate specific cases of corruption involving public officers, and politically exposed persons in the performance of their functions as well as individuals in the private sector implicated in the commission of corruption and prosecute these offences on the authority of the Attorney-General.

The office is independent of the Executive, which observers believe will allow it to adequately deal with corruption-related issues which have plagued past governments.

It is mandated to investigate and prosecute cases of alleged corruption under the Public Procurement Act 203 Act 63 and other corruption-related offences implicating public officers, political office holders and their accomplices in the public sector.

The Prosecutor will also be mandated to trace and recover the proceeds of corruption.

Photos from the Flagstaff house

 

 

 PrimeNewsGhana / GhanaNews