The new Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to swear in the new Special Prosecutor of the Republic later today, Thursday, August 5 2021.
The new Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng who prior to his appointment served as a private legal practitioner and a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law is the second person to occupy the position after its creation in 2017.
The 43-year-old legal luminary succeeds Martin Amidu who resigned in the last quarter of 2020 after describing President Akufo-Addo as the “mother serpent of all corruption”.
Mr Agyabeng was unanimously approved by Parliament on July 30, 2021, after he was vetted by the Appointments Committee in Parliament.
He pledged, amongst other things to adopt new technologies and make us investigative journalists to make corruption expensive to perpetuate.
“I am not naive to assume that I am coming to stop corruption. There’s no way I can stop corruption. God himself will not acclaim to that but, I am going to make corruption very costly to engage in. First, I am going to institute what I call ‘Pressure for Progress’ and in this quest, there will be a systemic review of all public sector institutions and the development of integrity plans,” he said.
The novel office was established following the passage of the Office of Special Prosecutor Bill in 2017 to spearhead the country’s fight against corruption and its related activities.
However, in spite of the glowing tributes that preceded him, his predecessor, Martin Amidu has described his appointment as one borne out of a personal relationship with the Attorney General.
In one of his write-ups he wrote, “…Asaase Radio should also have told the Ghanaian and international public that its surrogate and nominee Special Prosecutor in the published letter is a personal friend and classmate of the Attorney General, and the owner of Asaase Radio all of whom attended the University of Ghana’s Faculty of Law and Ghana Law School.
