Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has cautioned against any attempt to defame him by forces he believes are tied to government as he tries to exercise restraint in any discourse.
According to him, top government officials have, in an attempt to project the newly nominated Special Prosecutor in a positive light, sought to drag his name through the mud.
“By all means, let anybody root for his or her preferred Special Prosecutor as an insurance against prosecution for corruption in government but leave me out of the propaganda,” he said in his latest epistle.
The anti-graft campaigner resigned from the OSP portfolio in November 2020, over what he said was undue interference from President Akufo-Addo in a Corruption Risk Assessment conducted into the Agyapa Royalties Agreement.
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There was a series of heated correspondence between the Presidency and Mr Amidu which triggered a public conversation about how the establishment of a special office to fight high-level graft has rather created a wedge between the two.
Months down the line, the Attorney-General has nominated legal practitioner, Kissi Agyebeng to take over the office.
In the latest statement, Mr Amidu said some henchmen have colluded with some media houses to embark on a smear campaign as part of efforts to get the President to accept the new nomination by publishing “fabrications, lies, and omissions against me in its narration of the reasons for my resignation.”
In his defence, Martin Amidu’ said his seeming silence over the past few months was occasioned by an undertaking to that effect, which he is being tempted to dishonor by ongoing rumblings since the selection of a new nominee was leaked.
“I am honouring an undertaking by my silence in not commenting on public affairs. Stop tempting me to speak by the defaming propaganda against me. It will not be in anyone’s interest,” he added.
The former Special Prosecutor also said he is interested in how Legal Practitioner and Chairman of the Electronic Communications Tribunal, Kissi Agyebeng will “independently and impartially” handle some corruption cases when he is approved by President Akufo-Addo and Parliament to head his old office.
This according to him is because of the relationship between the nominee and the individuals/institutions involved in suspected corrupt acts.
Meanwhile, the Attorney-General has explained that the nomination was in line with section 13 (8) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), which states that “when the position of the SP becomes vacant, the President shall, within six months, appoint another qualified person for that portfolio.”
Credit UPI.com