Delayed justice in corruption cases embolden perpetrators - Professor Agyekum

Professor Kofi Agyekum, the head of the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, has lamented that the slow pace of justice delivery in corruption-related cases is a major reason for which corruption still festers in the country.

He observed that “the citizenry never get to know the end of many cases of corruption due to apathy on the part of parties involved in such cases, a situation which emboldens the perpetrators of the crime to continue with same.

“I believe justice is too slow when people are found culpable in corruption cases, the parties adopt all forms of strategies, legal gymnastics including prosecutors absenting themselves from the courts amid various alibi, excuses and we often don’t get to the bottom of such issues.

“And what happens usually is that the citizenry tends to blame the government of the day, particularly the president for not doing enough in the fight against corruption without recourse to happenings within the legal chain,” Prof Agyekum bemoaned.

His sentiments are in response to the president’s decisions on corruption allegations levelled against some of his appointees, which comments have since provoked mixed reactions from various members and entities of the public including political parties, pressure groups, corporate social organizations, and individuals.

In a careful manner to avoid a suggestion of persecution, Professor Agyekum appealed to judges to consider finding means to ensure corruption cases that come before them are dealt with in a reasonably pacy manner to repose confidence in the public as well as deter potential offenders.

“The president, in a bid to dispel suggestions he may be shielding his appointees, make public reports ‘clearing’ those accused of one allegation or the other when reports are completed, how long is it expected to stay at the presidency before it is made public?

“There are several reports which are yet to be made public, I do not understand why the government will sit on them when nothing stops them from publishing, in the interest of transparency, probity, and accountability, the government ought to publish such documents to reduce the level of corruption perception the citizenry have about them,” Prof Agyekum pointed out.