Statement: AG explains prosecution of Anane, Mpiani and others

Press Release

March 31, 2010

The Republic v Mr. Sammy Crabbe, Dr. Akoto Osei, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, Dr. Richard Anane and Prof Gyan Baffour.

The death of Ghana Airways as the national carrier and the birth of Ghana International Airlines as its replacement generated a lot of controversy and public discussions at the time. Despite misgivings that were expressed by a section of the public no attempt was made by the previous government to scrutinize the process. The current government came to meet a situation in which, in spite of the flourish and hype and promises that heralded the birth of GIA, the airline still needed regular support from government.

In 2009, the state initiated investigations into the operations of Ghana International Airlines with a view to finding out why, in spite of the declared aim of replacing Ghana Airways with a viable national carrier, the GIA was still bleeding and causing the Ghanaian taxpayer so much money. There was therefore the need to institute investigations into its formation and operations, in order to assist government to decide whether or not it made sense to continue with its support.

The need for such investigations was immediately clear. The liquidation of Ghana Airways was a painful process. Many ordinary Ghanaians lost their jobs and thereby their livelihood. The process also cost the state a lot of money; choice investments and properties of the company had to be sold to partially meet the obligations of Government as the sole shareholder; the reputation of Ghana had been badly dented in the international airline market.

In the circumstances, His Excellency the President, Professor Mills, and his government took the view that they owed it to the people of Ghana to find out why in spite of such a painful process of disengagement, and in spite of the promise to, and the high expectations, of Ghanaians after the birth of GIA, the tax payer¹s money was still being used to support the entity that was supposed to replace Ghana Airways and restore our national pride. After receiving a comprehensive report in December 2009 from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police and evaluating it, and having come to the conclusion that there was wrong-doing, the Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu directed the police to build a docket and take both witness and caution statements from a number of suspects and witnesses. This docket was ready for prosecution by the middle of March 2010. However, it took a little longer to bring the matter to court because three of the suspects were Members of Parliament and the Attorney General was careful not to undermine their constitutionally enshrined parliamentary privilege in processing them for court.

On March 30 2010 formal charges were filed against Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, Dr. Akoto Osei and Dr. Anane. The facts that the prosecution will rely on are stated on the attached sheets.

We owe it to ourselves as Ghanaians to hold public officials accountable for their actions. Accountability therefore lies at the heart of these prosecutions.

The Attorney General wishes to reiterate her clear commitment to due process in this prosecution, as has been evidenced by the extreme diligence and thorough investigations which have been the hallmark of this case and, indeed is being followed in all matters that she brings before the courts. The Attorney General further hopes that the judicial system will be given the opportunity by all well-meaning citizens, to discharge its adjudicatory role in an independent, fair and impartial manner.