Kissi Agyebeng the Special Prosecutor has revealed that Ghana appears to be in two minds over the corruption fight.
According to him, It is as if Ghana does not know what we want, whether to fight corruption or not to fight corruption.
Speaking at the Constitution Day Public Lecture under the theme “A Few Good Men: Suppressing and Repressing Corruption and State Capture in Aid of Development,” Kissi Agyebeng detailed, “There have been attempts to discredit the principles of the office and its officers, unjustly attended by formidable resistance and pushback. Often the attacks on the office and its principals are done by persons who are at the short end of investigation or prosecution and the associates of such persons.
The effect of the existential challenge confronting the OSP is that though the nation collectively acknowledges that we must fight corruption, yet there is also a section that the flagship agency designed, even if imperfectly, to fight corruption, is not needed and should be disbanded while others actively undermine it and its principal officers,” he stated.
He further raised concerns about the Ghanaian’s commitment to fighting corruption.
“This has translated into a rather curious cycle; there is an outcry when the OSP acts and an outcry when it is seen as not acting. It is as if we do not know what we want. The situation in Ghana now appears to be like ‘we must fight corruption but we must not fight corruption, that is our state now,” Kissi Agyebeng added.
Kissi Agyebeng further revealed the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) job attracts enemies who will not hesitate to take a life.
According to Kissi Agyebeng the position of Special Prosecutor fetches droves of enemies daily and brings one into direct confrontation with the lowest forms of debasement in humans.
Kissi Agyebeng noted that everyone wants the Special Prosecutor to do his job, yet no one wants the Special Prosecutor to do his job.
Kissi Agyebeng detailed, “The position of Special Prosecutor is a thankless job. It fetches you droves of enemies daily and brings you into direct confrontation with the lowest forms of debasement in humans. You do not go asking for it; it finds you”.
“Everyone wants the Special Prosecutor to do his job, yet no one wants the Special Prosecutor to do his job. It all depends on the subject of the investigation”, he added.
Kissi Agyebeng further made a chilling revelation about the grave dangers that come with his job.
He added, “Though we accept that we need to rein in corruption, no one wants to yield freely to scrutiny. No one happily accedes to the indictment. No one welcomes investigations. No one wants to be called out as a suspect in corruption-related activities. And so, there is always a strong pushback, intended to deflect focus from scrutiny and accountability.
Some of the enemies this job attracts will not hesitate to take a life should the opportunity present itself, thus, my security risk is ultra high, and I have to perpetually be on the lookout for attacks on my person”, the Special Prosecutor stated.
