The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has affirmed that the joint declaration issued by the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Judicial Service reflects a profound commitment to combating corruption.
In an interview, the Public Relations Officer of the GBA, Saviour Kudze, expressed satisfaction with the collaborative effort, emphasizing that it signals a positive and reinvigorated commitment to the ongoing fight against corruption and associated activities.
“I’m using the word renewed because all along, they’ve been collaborating, they’ve been committed to the course of fighting corruption and corruption-related activities. This is the way we think we should go,” he said.
He added, “we should collaborate, we should learn to engage each other rather than go in the way we normally do. But this is also to stress the point that this doesn’t take away the fact that court rules and procedures must be observed.”
On Wednesday, the Judicial Service of Ghana and the Office of the Special Prosecutor officially pledged to jointly combat corruption through collaborative law enforcement and ensuring equitable hearings for all participants in the criminal justice system.
This commitment emerged in response to concerns raised by Ghana’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, regarding perceived unfair rulings on cases related to corruption. Agyebeng expressed unease about what he saw as the court’s disregard for the powers of his office, particularly with what he deemed as swift dismissals of its cases.
Agyebeng argued that judges hindering the successful prosecution of politically exposed cases could have detrimental consequences for the country. However, after engaging with various stakeholders, including the Ghana Bar Association, the Judicial Service, and the Office of the Special Prosecutor, underscored the crucial roles of the Judiciary and the OSP in tackling corruption and related activities.
In response to the joint declaration, former MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, who served on the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, emphasized the significance of this collaborative effort in the nation’s ongoing fight against corruption.
On the part of the judiciary, he said, “They are concerned, clearly noting certain things that ought to be done, and then affirming their position to collaborate to fight this canker through established institutions, through established procedures.”
“So clearly, they are setting the signal…they note efforts being made in that direction. They note the impact of that on development, and they are saying that well, all of us ought to work together to fight corruption and fight with the seriousness and attention that it deserves,” Mr Fuseini said.