Agyepong Takes Mills On

Mr. Kwabena Agyepong, son of one of the three High Court judges gruesomely murdered with a retired army officer in 1982, says Vice-President Professor John Atta Mills is compromising his legal expertise with loyalty and political expediency.

He was commenting on a statement by Professor Mills at his maiden encounter with the media which suggested that the law does not allow for the re-opening of the murder case since it has already been determined by a Special Investigative Board (SIB).

Addressing a news conference in Accra last Thursday, he expressed disappointment that the Vice President deceived Ghanaians about application of a legal statute of limitation which implied that he would not be prepared to act and establish the truth if elected President of Ghana.

"While I am very disappointed with the Vice-President's views, I am completely appalled by his obvious economy with the truth especially the attempt to confuse the people with excuses which are pure lies and unpardonable for an acknowledged legal expert such as the Vice President."

He went on: "The truth is that there is and can never be any statute of limitation on the matter of the murder of my father and his colleagues. I am not aware of any law here in Ghana, or elsewhere, which supports Vice President Mills position."

Agyepong asserted that new compelling evidence on a case allows it to be revisited as it renders the verdict of previous proceedings defective. "It is this principle that animated the re-opening of the case of the Birmingham 6 and the Guildford 4 in England which in turn led to reversal of guilty verdicts of the convicts. That principle must apply here," he advocated.

Mr.Agyepong noted that even the copious quotation of the scriptures did not support Mills' position as nowhere in the Bible is the suggestion that establishing truth has a time limit nor that forgiveness can take the place of truth. "Indeed, the Bible reinforces the need to establish the truth at all times as the basis for forgiveness and reconciliation."

He described the excuse offered by Professor Mills that most of the people connected with the case are dead and therefore it would be difficult to re-open the matter as pathetic, lame and untenable. He said sixteen surviving leading members of both the PNDC and the Special Investigations Board (SIB) can be invited for questioning or assistance to establish the truth.

Agyepong said his crusade to establish the truth stemmed from some of the findings of the SIB that were set aside or ignored and others which it should have made but failed to do so.

He noted that Professor Mills' remarks give credence to the perception that if elected his government would be the one that will cover up the misdeeds of the 20 year rule of the (P)NDC and condone criminality.

"By his words not only has candidate Atta -Mills tainted his own image, he has also put a big question mark against his character, honesty, credibility and respect due the Vice Presidency," Agyepong said.