Attorney General and Deputy ‘clash’ over prosecution date for NDC appointees

Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Gloria Akuffo says government will not rush into prosecution of suspected criminals under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (ND) regime, contrary to an October deadline given by her subordinate Joseph Kpemka, in an interview with an Accra based radio station.

“You don’t go to court unprepared because there is pressure for you to go to court otherwise in the end you will embarrass yourself and we are not prepared in the least to embarrass ourselves in any court in Ghana. The courts are on a legal vacation and will be resuming in October by which time things will be ready and we will proceed to court. However I am unable to mention specific cases that are ready for prosecution and will be taken to court for very good reasons, when we get to the bridge we will cross,” he added.”

But in a separate interview, Ms. Akuffo says though government is determined to prosecute those suspected to have misappropriated state funds, they will not rush in prosecution since any poor job will impact negatively on the team.

“The burden of proof in guilt is a very high one and the least doubt will inure to thei r[accused] benefit. We are not in a hurry to ran people to court just because people are calling for it, we want to go because we have the evidence to support a conviction,”

There is widespread public demand for prosecution to soon begin following recent revelations of corruption allegations against high profile officials at SSNIT and the Jospong Group.