The game that ended with a zero score but with injuries on the presidency: The case of Martin Amidu's petition to remove the SP
SP Kissi Agyebeng and Martin Amidu
I suspect that a certain ugly game was played in a failed attempt to remove the Special Prosecutor. I have monitored updates on the issues and can conclude that we have all been fooled, yet no one is asking questions about the trajectory of schemes.
The lack of clarity on the subject leaves some of us believing that the petition was cooked in the presidency in the name of Martin Amidu, riding on the continuous critique of the SP by his vocal former SP cum anti-corruption crusader as he describes himself through his long epistles.
The news about the petition for the removal of the special prosecutor was largely reported by the media. In a publication by www.mypeaceonline.com, a petition dated April 30, 2024, was attributed to Martin Amidu. As a result, many of us believed the report. The issue was topical in public discourse.
See...https://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/politics/politics/202405/503272.php.
What came as additional validation of the news was the purported forwarding of the petition by the president to the Chief Justice as a necessary requirement for the removal process. The purpose of forwarding the petition to the chief justice is to enable the CJ to look into the petition and determine whether or not there is/was a prima facie case in the petition.
I will make no comment on whether or not the president can just forward a petition for the removal of the Special Prosecutor without establishing the merits of the petition. Others say that the president in the removal process is just a conveyor belt, while others contend that he must first establish a prima facie case before forwarding it to the Chief Justice for further determination. I will leave that debate for another day. The forwarding of the petition to the CJ was also widely reported.
See...
https://citinewsroom.com/2024/05/akufo-addo-forwards-petition-to-remove-special-prosecutor-to-cj/
With the petition received by the Chief Justice, she acted with alacrity. I read from the reports a letter directed to the SP with a copy of the purported petition, seeking responses from the Special Prosecutor. It is a fundamental law principle of natural justice to hear from the other side (audi alteram parten). See....
https://citinewsroom.com/2024/05/chief-justice-seeks-response-from-special-prosecutor-on-removal-petition/
In a rather dramatic twist, after the NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, allegedly accused Martin Amidu of supporting the scheme of the NPP government to remove the SP, it compelled Martin Amidu to scribe a long epistle, daring the NDC to produce evidence that he, Martin Amidu, wrote that purported petition. This came as a surprise to all who took an interest in the matter. Amidu told the whole world that he did not write any petition to the president for the removal of the SP.
See...
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Martin-Amidu-denies-authorship-of-petition-to-remove-Kissi-Agyebeng-1932917
I was dumfounded reading the epistle and have been waiting for a response from the presidency clarifying the issue. With formal communication on the subject, we would have known whether there was another Martin Amidu somewhere with similar descriptions. Even if the government had responded to Martin Amidu, I have yet to see it.
The disclaimer by the alleged petitioner while the presidency remained silent smacks of a lot of doubt and mistrust! Either the presidency cooked up the petition or Martin Amidu told a lie! We need to know the truth!
After waiting for several weeks and anticipating some responses from the president, a well-known pro-government media house reported that the Chief Justice has thrown out Amidu's petition.
See...https://dailyguidenetwork.com/chief-justice-throws-out-amidus-petition-to-remove-special-prosecutor/
This dramatic narrative to remove the Special Prosecutor, though finally thrown out, leaves some scars of credibility on the president and the chief justice. It is difficult to understand! It is such an interesting political game that has ended in a zero score with a lot of injuries, but it does appear that the multiplicity of scandals by this government has provided a convenient refuge for these dramatic maneuvers and the attempted removal of the Special Prosecutor.
Is it not necessary to ask questions? The media should not leave us in the middle of the sea! We must be accountable to one another!