The Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics, Mussa Dankwah, has said the Attorney-General should resource the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to take on political ORAL cases.
According to Mussa Dankwah, the ORAL cases would travel beyond John Mahama’s 4-year term therefore, there is a risk of nolle prosequi to be filed in 2029 if NDC does not win the 2028 elections.
In a Facebook post, Mussa Dankwah wrote, “I am not a lawyer, but I understand enough to make suggestions on how to proceed with ORAL, having witnessed the legal gymnastics in this country. We can’t assume that NDC will win the 2028 elections, and we can’t wait for the Attorney-General’s role to be split from that of state prosecution. These ORAL cases will travel beyond the 4-year term, and therefore, there is a risk of nolle prosequi to be filed in 2029 if NDC does not win the 2028 elections.
As a result, I think the Attorney-General should resource and strengthen the OSP to take on several of these potential political ORAL cases so that we can be assured that those trials will continue beyond the government’s term”, he added.
He added, While JDM, through his Attorney General, has discontinued several court cases due to what is perceived to be witch hunting, we also saw few nolle prosiqui filings during Nana Addo’s terms, but many of the cases did not even make it to charges being filed. Therefore, both administrations can be accused of acting as clearing agents with various levels of degrees.”
“These challenges have arisen because successive governments have not prioritized the separation of the Attorney-General’s role from state prosecution. So, for now, the surest bet to ensure the continuation of prosecutions is to use the OSP”.
“This will avoid the accusation of political witch hunt since the OSP is a former government appointee and secondly, to ensure that prosecutions will continue even if there is a change of government until we have an amended constitution,” he said.
Meanwhile, President John Mahama has stated every pesewa recovered from Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) will be channelled back into national development.
According to John Mahama, the recommendations of the report will be carefully studied, and where legal action and investigations are needed, they will be pursued without fear or favour.
