Vetting and approval of Amidu 'blatant disregard' for the law - Kwesi Pratt

Former Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine has petitioned the Supreme Court to challenge the qualification of Martin Amidu for the position of Special Prosecutor.

Dr. Dominic Ayine has raised constitutional concerns about the age of Mr. Amidu with regard to the Special Prosecutor's office.

In his suit, he argued that Mr. Amidu, being 66 years of age, is too old to hold public office and perhaps not constitutionally permitted and qualified to work in the capacity of the Special Prosecutor.

Despite the writ to court, Parliament vetted Martin Amidu and reports indicate he has won majority votes for Parliamentary approval.

Commenting on the issue on 'Kokrokoo' on Peace FM, seasoned journalist Kwesi Pratt raised eyebrows over the vetting of Martin Amidu by the Appointments Committee of Parliament.

He first made reference to the pending suit against Mr. Amidu in court and so wondered why the Appointments Committee ignored the court petition and went ahead to vet the Citizen Vigilante.

According to him, the Committee has set a precedent with their blatant disregard for the writ filed before the Supreme Court and was pessimistic the action will have dire future consequences for the nation.

“Parliament, by its own rules, says that when a matter is before court; Parliament should not take any action or decision which will be prejudicial to the outcome. It’s in the rules of Parliament”, he stated.

He also alluded to a statement Mr. Amidu made regarding the Special Prosecutor bill which has been passed into an Act by the Akufo-Addo administration.

Mr. Amidu, before his nomination as Special Prosecutor by President Nana Akufo-Addo, had argued that the bill is constitutionally defective and should be amended.

Kwesi Pratt therefore expressed surprise that he decided to take up the position in spite of his stance on the bill.

He asked how Mr. Amidu would duly execute his duties when he's against the same bill that gives him the mandate.

Mr. Pratt further objected to certain amendments made to suit the Special Prosecutor Act in order to give Mr. Amidu power to prosecute corrupt officials.

He noted that due to the establishment of the office, the prosecution power of the Attorney General has been solely wielded to the Special Prosecutor which to him, is an illegality.

“We have amended the constitution by legislation which is illegal. If that is the case, what you have done is to amend the constitution by legislation. It’s not allowed anywhere. It’s an illegality, clear illegality but now there’s an euphoria; so everybody is jumped on the bandwagon. Me, I don’t follow the crowd. Kwami, I’ve never followed the crowd.

“ . . We dey here . . . ibi here we dey . . . now, with the law; it doesn’t matter. Nobody is interested in the law. Nobody is in interested in what the constitution is saying. There’s a certain euphoria . . . and everybody is following . . . mark it somewhere, isssues about it will not arise today, it will be in the future and we will see our smoothness level soon”, Pratt concluded.

Only one MP on the 26-member committee voted against Amidu's nomination.

Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini has said although Mr Amidu is a man of good intentions and very competent, he is not suitable for the office.