'I'm not on the run' - Charles Bissue reacts to OSP declaring him Wanted

The former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, has said that he is not on the run.

He explained that the decision by the Office of the Special Prosecutor to declare him Wanted comes to him as a shock.

Speaking to GhanaWeb in a phone interview following the Wanted notice made by the OSP, Charles Bissue said he has nothing to hide and that he will surely present himself at the investigator’s office.

“I’m shocked by it because I wasn’t in Accra and I knew they had invited me and there are other issues going on, and all that, but then, you know in the past, I’ve been to the BNI, to the CID, and even the Special Prosecutor’s Office when Martin Amidu was there, I went there.

“So, it wasn’t as if I was avoiding attending that interview,” he explained.

Explaining why he has not been able to honour the invitation by the OSP yet, Charles Bissue said it is a simple case of not immediately being in Accra.

He stressed that it comes to him as a shock, especially when the OSP’s declaration of him as Wanted paints a picture as though he is a criminal or a fugitive.

“What happened is that I was out of Accra, so my lawyers have written to them that I will come and then we heard of the arrest warrant. Basically, I haven’t gone anywhere. I’m in Ghana and I’ll go to the Special Prosecutor’s office at some point when I return to Accra, but to declare me Wanted, I don’t know why, as if I’m a fugitive… but the whole thing is making it look like I’m a criminal,” he stated.

Charles Bissue stressed that he is not on the run and that he is ready to provide all the necessary information the Office of the Special Prosecutor would need to help with its work.

He assured the OSP that he would definitely show up at their offices to help with their work.

“Visiting all these agencies and all that, the Ghanaian perception is that the fact that you go to these places means that you are a criminal. No. Every information I have, I’ll volunteer in the interest of the country so, I haven’t run away anywhere. I’m within the country, and even when I was out of the jurisdiction last year, I have so many visas, I could have stayed out of the country if I had anything to hide.

“I am in the jurisdiction, and I’ll attend the Special Prosecution’s office at some point to answer their questions,” he added.

Background:

Earlier, GhanaWeb reported that the Office of the Special Prosecutor had declared the former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, Wanted.

In a notice shared on social media, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, the OSP stated that Charles Bissue is being wanted regarding issues pertaining to his work on the dissolved IMCIM.

The notice which was titled “Wanted by the OSP” has a picture of Charles Bissue and his full name Charles Cromwell Nanabayin Onuawonto Bissue.

The alleged offences he was declared wanted for include: “corruption-related offences regarding the activities and expenditure of the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), especially in respect of the seizure and management of excavators, machinery, road vehicles, and gold nuggets; and use of public office for profit”.

The OSP’s declaration comes after reports it had secured a warrant for the arrest of the former secretary to the IMCIM.

Meanwhile, the former chairman of IMCIM and former Minister of Science and Technology, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, was arrested on May 16, 2023, in relation to some corruption allegations in the work of the IMCIM.

Prof Frimpong-Boateng was granted a GH¢2 million bail by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

This followed an invitation from the OSP to the former minister to appear before it in an ongoing investigation into some corruption-related matters relating to a report he spearheaded on activities of small-scale mining in the country.

According to a report by 3news.com, the renowned heart surgeon has since been granted bail.

On May 4, 2023, GhanaWeb reported that the former Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, had been invited by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, to assist with investigations following allegations raised in a report submitted to the presidency.

Prof. Frimpong had made suggestions that some elements in the New Patriotic Party and the government had made attempts to frustrate his work and sabotage him during his work as chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).

In the statement dated, May 4, 2023, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng noted that he had duly received the invitation and had indicated his willingness to cooperate.

He noted that he was described as ‘a person necessary for the investigation’.

The investigations will help bring clarity to issues of suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of the activities and expenditure of the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).

“I have formally communicated my willingness to attend the invitation and to support the OSP in its work,” he said.

View the wanted notice plus the post shared by the OSP below:

Charles Cromwell Nanabayin Onuawonto Bissue is wanted by the #OSP on Corruption and corruption-related offences regarding the activities and expenditure of the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM)….: https://t.co/73Rfo4qFvC pic.twitter.com/Qm9Q8yYmES

— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) June 13, 2023