Amidu Would Have Hard Time Dealing With Political 'Mafias'--Lawyer

A private lawyer Dr. Rainer Akumperigya has charged Special Prosecutor nominee, Martin Amidu to brace himself to face stiff opposition from persons with political and economic interests within and outside government.

Martin Amidu, during his vetting, vowed to bring persons who loot the coffers of the nation to book, intimating that not even the President can stop him.

But Dr. Akumperigya explained that Amidu's task will be a tough one since Ghana's democracy itself is built on what he termed as “corrupt proceeds.”

Martin Amidu swearing the oath before the appointments committee

He noted that Amidu would have to fight those who “pull the strings” in a bid to achieve the objectives for which the Special Prosecutor’s Office was established.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, Mr Akumperigya said fighting corruption will be a daunting task for Mr. Amidu.

The lawyer said the nominee had given the impression during his vetting that “no one is going to interfere with his office including the president but I beg to differ in that regard, he has to be ready.”

“Martin cannot be naïve to think that no one will interfere with his office. He will be tempted. If you look at it from 1992, our Constitutional and multiparty democracy system have been built on corrupt proceeds, most of the party activities especially during general elections, where you require massive resources, where do such resources come from? If we want to be sincere with ourselves the system itself has been based and financed by pieces of corruption. So he is an individual, he now has the singular opportunity; he's done it in the past as an individual now he is a public officer. He has to fight this, but he has to be aware that all the political actors and economic interests that prevailed prior to his appointment still prevail,” the lawyer added.

Martin Amidu was vetted by the Appointments Committee last Tuesday, February 15, 2018; an assessment exercise that lasted for over 7 hours .

Mr. Amidu's public vetting has received widespread commendation as many stakeholders believe he performed creditably.

The Appointments Committee also unanimously recommended his confirmation moments after the grueling exercise.

‘Fear of God’
President Nana Akufo-Addo had said that he appointed Amidu to help put the fear of God in his appointees and public officials.

“I do not expect that he [Martin Amidu] will provide all the answers for dealing with the phenomenon of corruption by public officials, but I do believe that at the least, the office will remove the fear of partisan prosecution and put the fear of God in all public officials who are intending to go on the path of corruption,” he said.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin
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