Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has disagreed with President Akufo-Addo’s assertion that he doesn’t interfere with investigations involving his appointees.
Mr Kpebu insists that the President does interfere, citing the Cecilia Abena Dapaah case as an example where Akufo-Addo expressed confidence in her clearance before investigations concluded.
According to Kpebu, if the President’s comments in such cases are not considered interference, he finds it challenging to understand what would qualify as interference. President Akufo-Addo has recently denied being a “clearing agent” for his appointees and refuted claims of interference in corruption probes.
“The president says that there is no corruption issue that has not been investigated, his comment is in relation to the Cecilia Dapaah saga where millions and millions were found with her in her bank account and in her house. It is neither here nor there. The BOST one, was he not the one that when a committee had been set up, stepped in and stopped it. What else could qualify as interference if stopping a committee from going ahead doesn’t qualify as interference?
“In Cecilia Dapaah’s case, his comments that he knew she would be cleared was certainly bad for the optics,” he stated in a 3news.com report.
Martin Kpebu highlighted another instance of President Akufo-Addo’s involvement, citing his participation in the evaluation of Ghana’s National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).
The President has encouraged institutions involved in the anti-corruption efforts to assess the plan’s impact and make necessary adjustments.