Anti-corruption campaigner Vitus Azeem says Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng should be allowed to remain in office despite the growing calls for his removal.
According to him, instead of pushing the Special Prosecutor out, Ghanaians should apply sustained pressure to ensure he performs his duties effectively.
Speaking on JoyFM’s Top Story on Tuesday, November 25, in reaction to the 16 petitions demanding Mr. Agyebeng’s removal, Mr. Azeem said he does not support the calls for the Special Prosecutor to be dismissed.
“I think we should give it a bit more time, but put fire under him so that he will be compelled to sit up and do what he’s expected to do,” he said.
“Because Martin Amidu [Former Special Prosecutor] left, he has come. And if we continue removing them, we are not sure who’s going to come in again and whether that person will be any different.
“So maybe we should let him stay, but continue to push fire under him so that he is compelled to sit down and do the right thing.”
He explained that public scrutiny and constant pressure are necessary tools to ensure accountability.
“The pressure, like what we are talking about now, and what others have been saying, calling on him to do the right thing; these are the things that will hold him to the fire, compel him to come out, admit the truth, and stop giving contradictory information,” he added.
When asked whether Ghanaians can still trust the Special Prosecutor to deliver if he remains in office, Mr. Azeem said the loss of public confidence should serve as a wake-up call for Mr. Agyebeng.
“If Ghanaians have lost confidence in him, that should make him sit up and change. He has been told that we are not satisfied with what he is doing, and so it’s time for him to be challenged to do the right thing,” he said.
On whether President John Mahama should “hasten slowly” in deciding on the petitions for removal, Mr. Azeem said the appropriate constitutional procedures must guide the process.
“Well, I have said that there are procedures we follow. So if the President looks at the petitions and he is convinced that they have some basis, then he would have to initiate the necessary action,” he stated.
Meanwhile, a group of Ghanaians, led by Apostle Abraham Lincoln Larbi and a private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, on Tuesday, staged a protest in Accra demanding the removal of the Special Prosecutor from office over what they describe as his failure to deliver on his mandate.
The group insisted that President Mahama must either terminate the appointment of Mr Agyebeng or dissolve the office entirely, claiming it is not serving the purpose for which it was established.
Speaking to the media during the protest, Martin Kpebu accused Mr Agyebeng of not being truthful to Ghanaians, alleging that he connived with former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to enable him to leave the country.
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