Kissi Agyebeng conflicted in Charles Bissue case - Martin Amidu

The founding Special Prosecutor of Ghana, Martin Amidu, has called into question the decision of the current occupant of the office, Kissi Agyebeng, to pursue a case against Charles Bissue, a former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), when he is clearly conflicted in the case.

In his latest epistle, Martin Amidu recalled how the case involving Charles Bissue, which is currently being investigated by the Office of the SP, was started under his reign.

He added that the Bissue angle to the case should have been an aftermath of the investigation of the Anas Aremeyaw Anas and Tiger Eye PI case, and not the other way around.

“The OSP under my watch investigated the Charles Bissue bribery allegations after the Ghana Police Service had purported to clear him of all suspicions while the OSP was seized with the corruption investigations. The Bissue investigations led to evidence pointing to the fact that Tiger Eye PI and Anas Aremeyaw Anas were complicit in the suspected offences of forgery, and corruption of public officers in obtaining the concessions giving rise to the entrapment of, and allegations against Charles Bissue.

“A decision whether to prosecute Charles Bissue could not, therefore, be made until the completion of the Tiger Eye PI and Anas Aremeyaw Anas bribery investigations for ethical and professional reasons. The two investigations were therefore pending on the same investigations docket when the founding Special Prosecutor resigned from office. Kissi Agyebeng, must also explain to the public his reason for not completing the investigation of the reasonably suspected corruption offences against Tiger Eye PI and Anas Aremeyaw Anas for suspected corruption in influencing public officers to obtain the registration of two enterprises on the same day, by two people with similar names and registered as ORR Resources Enterprises with the same registration serial number which the investigations into the Charles Bissue case had disclosed might have been done through bribery and corruption of officers at the Registrar-General’s Department… Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Kissi Agyebeng’s client and partner who made the complaint was to be invited for interrogation to establish the underpinning corruption offences at the time the founding Special Prosecutor exited from Office on 16 November 2020," he wrote.

Martin Amidu further indicated the conflicted angle that Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor, has decided to take in the case, stressing that he does not see how the anti-corruption office will be able to do play a fair role as a broker in this matter.

“The moment Kissi Agyebeng assumed his position in the OSP he chose to exonerate his law firm partner, friend, and Clients, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, and Tiger Eye PI, and to list only the Charles Bissue case in his unlawful half-yearly report as a completed investigation.

“How could Kissi Agyebeng be an honest broker in this case when he had written a letter dated 4 July 2019 in his capacity as Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ lawyer setting forth the conditions under which his client will testify in the case against Charles Bissue should he be charged for prosecution in court? Nonetheless, Kissi Agyebeng upon assuming the position of Special Prosecutor decided to prosecute Charles Bissue alone in spite of his conflict of interest in the matter,” he wrote.

Earlier, an Accra Human Rights Court dismissed the plea by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to rule out Charles Bissue’s judicial review application in the case where the OSP petitioned the court to throw out latter’s application to be heard in court.

The OSP has been investigating the alleged corruption and corruption-related offences in connection with illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana.

Read Martin Amidu’s full epistle below:

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