Akufo-Addo’s Special Prosecutor will be an ordinary state attorney - Mahama

Former President John Dramani Mahama is of the view that the Independent Special Prosecutor is not special after all because the person to be appointed will function like any other ordinary state attorney or prosecutor directly under the Attorney General’s Department.

He disclosed that the Special Prosecutor will still draw his/her powers from the Attorney General’s Department which has political inclination explaining that it defeats the claim the Special Prosecutor will be truly independent as trumpeted by government functionaries.

“The special prosecutor is like any ordinary state attorney. If you ask any of the MPs who passed the Special Prosecutor Bill, they will tell you that it still puts him or her under the supervision of the Attorney General. So did we go or come”, he asked while addressing members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the Unity Walk in Techiman

According to him, if government wants to set up an office for an Independent Special Prosecutor it must be truly independent to the extent that government cannot interfere in the work of such an establishment.

He however observed that once the office will be under the office of the Attorney General, it could be manipulated and persons alleged to have engaged in corrupt deals freed with the filing of Nolle prosequi as in the case of the Delta Force Members.

“We all heard how the Attorney General filed a Nolle prosequi and freed Delta Force members who attacked the court. They can do same in cases under the Independent Special Prosecutor once it is still under their office”, he added

Ex-President Mahama maintained that members of the NDC are not scared of the Special Prosecutor he is skeptical about its true independence considering what has transpired so far but want the government to offer former appointees a fair ground to defend themselves.