Private legal practitioner Kweku Paintsil has strongly criticised the conduct of the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, accusing him of turning investigations into a public spectacle rather than adhering to proper judicial procedures.
His comments were in response to the Special Prosecutor’s recent briefing on ongoing investigations.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Thursday, October 31, Mr Paintsil said the Special Prosecutor’s frequent press conferences and detailed public briefings on ongoing cases contradict the principles of fair trial and due process.
“I think what the OSP is doing is highly and very unprofessional. He is conducting a trial in the court of public opinion, which is against the very tenet and essence of a trial under our system of adjudication,” he said.
Mr Paintsil described the conduct of the OSP as “most abhorrent and shameful”, questioning what motivates such public commentary on cases that are yet to be tried in court.
The lawyer emphasised that every accused person is entitled to the presumption of innocence and accused the Special Prosecutor of undermining that constitutional right.
“I don’t know what pushes him to do all the kinds of things that he does by giving all these press statements. He is acting as if the media are going to be the judges in this matter. It’s very, very unfair,” he remarked.
His comments come after the OSP’s latest press briefing, during which Kissi Agyebeng announced that former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and several other former government officials will be prosecuted following investigations into alleged corruption and related offences.
According to the Special Prosecutor, the investigation uncovered evidence of serious financial irregularities involving top officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), as well as individuals connected to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
Mr Agyebeng said the OSP will charge Mr Ofori-Atta along with:
- Ernest Akore, former Chef de Cabinet to the former Minister of Finance
- Emmanuel Kofi Nti, former Commissioner-General of the GRA
- Rev Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, former Commissioner-General of the GRA
- Isaac Crentsil, former Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA and General Manager of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited
- Kwadwo Damoah, former Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA and Member of Parliament for Jaman South
He added that each of the named individuals will face charges of corruption and corruption-related offences before the end of next month.
Source: Emma Ankrah
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