Akufo-Addo forwards petition to Chief Justice to remove Kissi Agyebeng
President Nana Akufo-Addo has forwarded a petition to Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo seeking the removal of Kissi Agyabeng as Special Prosecutor.
Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu submitted the petition to the president on April 30, 2024.
Mr Amidu alleges procurement breaches in the purchase of vehicles for the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and abuses involving judges.
Other allegations include violations of citizens’ rights through arrests and detentions, violations of the right to information, and improper appointment of personnel to the office.
Additionally, Mr Amidu alleges a violation of the right to information when he requested that the appointment letters and salary details of all OSP staff be put on a pen drive for him.
The Chief Justice, as required by the constitution, has commenced the process to determine if there is a prima facie case to establish a committee for Mr. Agyebeng’s impeachment.
Kissi Agyebeng was sworn into office as the second Special Prosecutor of Ghana on August 5, 2021, for a seven-year statutory term.
The office became vacant when Martin Amidu, the first prosecutor appointed under the initiative, resigned on November 16, 2020.
During his vetting, Mr Agyebeng admitted that he cannot end corruption in Ghana but would work to reduce corruption to the barest minimum.
“I am not naïve to assume that I am coming to stop corruption. There is no way I can stop corruption, God himself would not even acclaim to that, but I am going to make corruption very costly to engage in”.
To fight corruption, he said he would institute what he termed ‘Pressure for Progress’, which would involve a systemic review of public sector institutions and the development of integrity plans.
He also proposed a Ghana version of the global Corruption Perception Index benchmark to address the canker in public institutions.