The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has stated that the joint declaration by the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Judicial Service indicates an intense commitment to the fight against corruption.
The Public Relations Officer of the GBA, Saviour Kudze, stated in an interview that the collaboration is a welcomed development, signifying a renewed dedication to the battle against corruption and related 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 committed to suppressing corruption through collaborative enforcement of the law and ensuring fair hearings for all stakeholders in the criminal justice system.
This commitment followed concerns raised by Ghana’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, over unfair rulings on suspected corruption and corruption-related cases.
According to Agyebeng, the court is displaying disregard for his office’s powers with what he perceives as hasty dismissiveness of its cases.
He argued that judges prohibiting the successful prosecution of politically exposed cases spell doom for the country.
However, following engagements with various stakeholders, including the Ghana Bar Association, the two institutions highlighted the vital roles of the Judiciary and the OSP in combating corruption and corruption-related activities.
In response to the statement, former MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, who served on the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, emphasised the importance of the joint declaration in the country’s 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.