'Anti-corruption fighters are corrupt themselves' - Maurice Ampaw

Private legal practitioner, Maurice Ampaw, has criticised successive governments over their anti-corruption campaigns, arguing that the fight against graft has become a political tool rather than a genuine effort to clean up public institutions.

Speaking on GhanaWeb TV's The Lowdown show, Ampaw said no administration has demonstrated the political will to comprehensively address corruption because those leading the campaigns are themselves compromised.

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"We are pretending to fight corruption. We are pretending to expose corruption, but we are not," he said.

According to the lawyer, corruption has persisted under every administration despite repeated promises to eradicate it.

"They will use corruption as a campaign tool just to remove a government from power," he argued.

Ampaw cited successive governments, claiming that promises of zero tolerance for corruption have repeatedly failed to produce meaningful results.

He questioned why former heads of state are rarely prosecuted after leaving office, insisting that criminal offences do not expire.

"Crime has no expiry date," he stated.

The legal practitioner also criticised politicians for condemning alleged corruption by their opponents while ignoring similar conduct within their own parties.

He argued that allegations of vote-buying and financial inducements during internal political contests undermine the credibility of politicians who campaign on anti-corruption platforms.

"The politician who is campaigning against corruption is already corrupt," he claimed.

Ampaw maintained that Ghana's anti-corruption efforts would remain ineffective unless the country addresses what he described as a deeply entrenched culture of corruption across public institutions and society.

"It's difficult because those who are going to fight corruption themselves are corrupt," he said.

He added that corruption goes beyond monetary inducements, saying influence, patronage and the pursuit of political favour are equally damaging forms of corruption that continue to undermine governance in Ghana.

NA/VPO

Lawyer Maurice Ampaw on judicial corruption, national issues and Christian faith