Attorney General Dr. Dominic Ayine has stated that he will not succumb to public pressure to hasten prosecutions arising from the government’s Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL), emphasising that due process must be followed to ensure sound legal outcomes.
Speaking at the government’s Accountability Series on Wednesday, Dr. Ayine said he does not wish to be perceived as an incompetent lawyer in public office, noting that he maintained a strong professional record during his years in private practice.
“Those who are pushing me to go to court and who are saying that by now convictions should be obtained, I know you have legitimate exception of your government officials including the president and the AG but we need to do a good job,” he said.
“Accountability takes time and so it is importance that Ghanaians exercise patience so that we have the kinds of result that I am announcing today, not that I will rush to court, defend lawyers will come raise objections throw my case out and then the same Ghanaians who wanted me to go to court expeditiously will now turn round and say that Ayine (Himself) is an incompetent Attorney General, I was never an incompetent lawyer in private practice, I dont want to be an incompetent lawyer in public service,” he added.
Dr. Ayine added that the Attorney General’s Department remains committed to upholding justice, but stressed that careful and thorough prosecution is key to securing credible convictions and maintaining public confidence in the legal process.
Recently, the former Auditor-General and a member of the ORAL team, Daniel Domelovo, has accused the government of dragging its feet in the prosecution of corrupt former public officials, nine months after assuming office.
Speaking in an interview on with KSM, Mr Domelovo expressed deep frustration over what he described as the “snail pace” of ongoing anti-corruption efforts under the Attorney-General’s office.
Later, he explained on JoyNews Newsfile that his comments were taken out of context. According to him, his remarks were not intended to criticise the government or question its commitment to prosecuting corruption-related cases in the ORAL document.
Rather, he said, his point was to highlight the importance of timely action in addressing such matters to maintain public confidence.
“I think what I said has been taken out of context because almost all of what you have listened to is an excerpt that KSM put out, not the full interview,” he clarified.
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