Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga East, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has sued the Attorney General and Special Prosecutor nominee, Mr. Martin ABK Amidu.
The former Deputy Attorney General, in a suit filed at the Supreme Court on Monday, is seeking among other things, a declaration that Mr. Martin Amidu is not eligible for employment in any public office created per his age.
Among the reliefs being sought, the plaintiff is asking the SC to issue “a declaration that by true and proper interpretation of Articles 190(1)(d) and 199(4) of the 1992 Constitution, no person above the age of 65 years is eligible for employment in any public office created under Article 190(1)(d)”.
It is therefore the the plaintiff’s case that Mr. Martin ABK Amidu is more than 65 years and as such is not qualified to be approved by parliament as a Special Prosecutor.
Martin Amidu also knowm as Citizen Vigilante was appointed by the president, Nana Akufo-Addo as the Special Prosecutor nominee in fulfillment of his campaign promise.
In a bid to do away with complaints of witch-hunting the president promised to establish a Special Prosecutor office, independent of the Attorney General to prosecute corruption offences in public office.
On January 11, the president named Amidu as the man to steer the affairs of the new office, much to the excitement of many Ghanaians and civil society organisations.
A former Attorney General under the late John Mills administration and a member of the NDC, Martin Amidu is credited for his tenacity in the judgement debt scandal he fought as a private citizen and won against Alfred Woyome, Waterville and Isofoton.
The president believes Amidu’s commitment to rule of law, his passion to fight crime, corruption in public service makes him the best candidate for the office even though the man is 66-years-old.
But members of the minority NDC, as well as a section of the NPP, are not happy with the appointment.
With just a day for him to be vetted by Parliament, Ayine has brought a case against him at the Supreme Court seeking to have his nomination annulled.
WHAT DOES ARTICLE 199 SAY?
Article 199 of the constitutions states: “Retiring age and pension;
(1) A public officer shall, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, retire from the public service on attaining the age of sixty years…
(4) Notwithstanding clause (1) of this article, a public officer who has retired from the public service after attaining the age of sixty years may, where the exigencies of the service require, be engaged for a limited period of not more than two years at a time but not exceeding five years in all and upon such other terms and conditions as the appointing authority shall determine.” [Inserted by section 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (Amendment) Act, 1996 (Act 527).”
OTHER RELIEFS BEING SOUGHT
Ayine is also seeking a declaration that any purported nomination by the Attorney General or approval by Parliament must be declared “unconstitutional, null and void.”
He argued further that by nominating Martin Amidu, and offering him for vetting and approval by Parliament, both the President and the Attorney General “have violated Article 199(1) of the Constitution. If Parliament proceeds to approve his appointment, it would also be acting unconstitutionally.”
AG, Amidu sued by Ayine
-