Daniel Domelevo was targeted by Akufo-Addo government - Manasseh Awuni Azure

Freelance anti-corruption investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has said that without a doubt, the former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo, was targeted by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government because it is not committed to the fight against corruption as it purports.

He explained that neither the reasons and facts presented to the government by the Audit Service Board nor suspicions that he is a John Dramani Mahama loyalist were not enough to have kicked the man out of office.

He said that although there are clear details that show the circumstances under which the former Auditor-General was appointed by the former president, John Dramani Mahama, there is no denying the fact that the current government took him out because they are not, as they have touted, committed to the fight against corruption.

Speaking on JoyNews' analysis program, Newsfile on Saturday, March 20, 2021, the award-winning journalist explained that from interacting with members of the incumbent government who are his friends, he found out they believed that Daniel Yao Domelevo was only out to make their government unpopular through his work.

After confirming that he had read the full details of a 21-page response from the Office of the President to CSOs against corruption on the retirement of Daniel Domelevo, the host of the show asked Manasseh if the details changed how he thought of the whole impasse.

“If it has changed anything, it’s my belief that Daniel Yao Domelevo was targeted by a president and a presidency that is not committed to the fight against corruption and it reaffirms some of the interaction we had with ministers of state when this Domelevo thing first came out.

“They told me, and we had an argument on it – I am friends with some of them, and they believe that Domelevo was after the regime, that’s the Akufo-Addo government, and one of them asked me specifically, why is it that a lot of the corruption cases you did, Domelevo is not investigating those ones?" he added.

He further noted that "So the notion that Domelevo was brought in to target this particular regime as you'd see if you read from the beginning of the release and the circumstances under which Domelevo was appointed, you will realize that they had something against the man beyond the date of birth and other reasons."