Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini says President Akufo-Addo’s nominee for the Special Prosecutor position is too young to fight against corruption.
According to the former legislature, although Kissi Agyebeng is qualified to head the anti-graft office, he is too young to fight against corruption in the country.
“Did the President search well enough and not found a worthy replacement for Martin Amidu other than Kissi Agyebeng? Why did the President settle on Agyebeng, when Agyebeng after seven years will be around 50 years?” the former MP asked.
“The Special Prosecutor’s position which is a risky job needs someone who is further advanced in life to resist any form of temptations due to how complicated the fight against corruption is” Mr. Inusah stressed.
“As a lawyer and former MP, my only concern is his age,” the former Minority Spokesperson on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament added in an interview on Monday on Adom FM’s current affairs program, Burning Issues.
The comment by the former NDC MP follows an announcement by Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame that Lawyer Kissi Agyebeng has been nominated as the Special Prosecutor, subject to the approval of Parliament.
But Inusah Fuseini has questioned the basis for Mr. Agyebeng’s appointment to succeed Martin Amidu, who resigned from office on November 15, 2020.
“I am just worried. Is the President meaning well? Will he try to interfere in the performance of the duty of Agyebeng?” Inusah Fuseni asked.
“The Special Prosecutor should be in the same age bracket with the President or older than the President. There should be some kind of mutual respect between the President and the Special Prosecutor,” he told host of the show, Akua Boagyewaa Yiadom.
According to him, “the Special Prosecutor should perform his duty without fear nor favour. He is coming to fight against corruption and corruption related offences, breaches of the Procurement Act and it can go both ways, it can be against the government and it can be against the other members of the public, so if he is too young like in the case of [Agyebeng], he is just about 43 years [born on 1978],” Mr Inusah stated.
“The problem is the age difference between him and the President. Will it manifest in the President trying to control him, because he can be a child of the President, so that’s my concern,” Inusah Fuseini lamented.
Mr. Inusah Fuseini also expressed concern about the relationship between the Special Prosecutor nominee and the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame which he alleged may create a possible conflict when it comes to investigations and prosecutions.
Contributing to the discussions on Adom FM, the Executive Director for Revenue Mobilization Africa, Godfred Ocansey disagreed with Inusah Fuseini raising concern about the nominee’s age.
He, however, urged the nominee when approved by Parliament to prove his critics wrong through his work.
Godfred Ocansey also appealed to the government to ensure timely release of funds to the Office of the Special Prosecutor to enable the corruption fighter work effectively as mandated by law.