Amidu using words like ‘lazy lawyers’, ‘former anti-corruption Moses’ unfortunate – Theo Acheampong

Dr. Theo Acheampong, a political risk analyst, has said some words the former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu used in his 27-page reply to President Akufo-Addo issued on Friday, November 27, were uncalled for and implied that he Amidu wanted to fight the presidency.

Speaking on Joy FM's Newsfile, Dr. Acheampong said, “Basically Amidu is claiming that the President has set more or less some attack dogs on him and so he needs to defend his integrity for following the professional work that he did on Agyapa.

But at the same time using words like ‘lazy lawyers’, ‘government is now being run on autopilot’, ‘former anti-corruption Moses’; I think those words are quite unfortunate and I read it like Amidu is more or less spoiling or looking for a fight.”

Acheampong, a Senior Fellow at IMANI Africa stated further that the unfortunate words in the 27-page reply of the Citizen Vigilante did not address the core issues he had raised and his statement would have been relevant if he had gone straight to the point.

“I’m a bit worried about some of the words that Amidu uses in the latest epistle and it doesn’t really do much good in terms of us looking at the core issues that he raises. He has a constitutional right to defend himself, no doubt, but the words that were used are a bit unfortunate as far as I am concerned,” Dr Theo Acheampong noted.

Martin Amidu in a 27-page reply to the President’s November 17 response to his resignation letter, partly stated: “If the President and you [Nana Bediatuo Asante, the President's Secretary who signed the letter] had found the time to read the full Agyapa Royalties Transaction anti-corruption assessment report you would not have relied on the conclusions and observations like lazy lawyers relying on facts and holding in a published law report to make false and frivolous character assassination attacks on my integrity for cheap political point-scoring."

He continued: “I shudder to think of the impression being created to the domestic and international community that this dear country of ours, Ghana, is now being run on autopilot."

Amidu addressed President Akufo-Addo directly: “My dear former “Anti-Corruption Moses” this is just one example to remind you, Mr President, that you should not have unleashed your attack dogs on my integrity as being responsible for the failure of the Special Prosecutor in the fight against corruption under your Presidency."

He added, "…that God (represented by the Holy Trinity in my Catholic faith) was in his own divine way revealing to me for the first time that the President of Ghana only looked like the innocent flower in the fight against corruption but was indeed the mother serpent of corruption under the innocent-looking flower of anti-corruption.”