Deputy Special Prosecutor nominee, Cynthia Naa Koshie Lamptey, has declared she will not resign her post at the Registrar General’s Department until her nomination has been approved by Parliament.
Section 16 (6) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act states: “the Deputy Special Prosecutor shall not while holding office, hold any other public office or engage in any commercial venture”.
Against this background, Ms. Lamptey was at her vetting Wednesday morning asked what she intends to do regarding the section of the Special Prosecutor Act to which she responded she will never resign until her nomination is approved.
“Well, if I’m approved, I will have to resign from that Division. That’s the plan I have now but not until I’m approved I won’t resign,” Ms. Lamptey told Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto.
When Mr. Okudzeto asked whether her decision suggests she has no trust in her capacity, she responded in the negative, stating she would not want to take chances since in her view, anything could happen in the course of the processes for her approval by Parliament.
“No, no, no. Anything at all can happen. I wouldn’t want to come sit here and go home empty handed. If anything should happen… I wouldn’t do that,” she emphasized.
Ms. Lamptey, who has over 30 years standing as a lawyer, was on April 26 nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the Deputy Special Prosecutor.
Her nomination was presented to Parliament and was subsequently referred to the Appointments Committee that has the mandate to vet the candidate to establish her suitability for the anti-graft job.
When approved, Ms Lamptey will assist Martin Alamisi Benz Kaizer Amidu at the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The two coincidentally worked together at the Attorney General’s Department in the late Atta Mills’s government.
She was part of the prosecution of businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome as well as the former National Service Scheme Executive Director, Alhaji Alhassan Imoro, who was charged for allegedly stealing GHS86.9 million.
There were reports that former President John Dramani Mahama sacked her in 2015 for non-performance.
Ms Lamptey will be the first Deputy Special Prosecutor if approved.
By the statutes establishing the Office, the Deputy Special Prosecutor shall hold her office on the same terms and conditions of service as a Justice of the High Court except that the tenure of office shall be for a non-renewable tenure of seven years.
A person who seeks to remove the Deputy Special Prosecutor from office shall submit a petition to the president.
Copyright © 1994 - 2024 GhanaWeb. All rights reserved.
