Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has stated that the pronouncements by the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on the ongoing controversial Sputnik V vaccine and the involvement of Kwaku Agyeman-Manu implicates him.
According to Martin Amidu’s latest epistle, the comments by the president confirms evidence of his interference with the investigatory and adjudicatory process in the matter, just as he had earlier mentioned before he stepped down from his position.
During his Bono region tour last week, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, commenting on the widespread calls for the resignation of the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, said that his appointee has been unjustly vilified.
“There are a lot of people from the Bono Region in my government; including the Minister of Health, who is currently receiving slaps [from Ghanaians]. He is an indigene of Dormaa. He has really suffered in that Health Ministry and is still suffering,” he said amid laughter.
His comments were interpreted as his support for Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, a position that Martin Amidu agrees with.
In his epistle, Amidu states that Ghanaians should not “be fooled that this was intended as a joke.”
Providing his evidence on why he believes that the president has shown that he was directly involved in the messy Sputnik V procurement, the former SP made reference to circumstances that led to his own resignation in November 2020.
“When I stated the President’s interference with the independent performance of the functions of the Special Prosecutor in investigations and prosecution of suspected corruption and corruption-related matters affecting the government and its appointees as the main reason for my resignation, doubting Thomases, as usual, had no eyes to see nor hear and questioned my judgment.
“After my resignation, the whole world witnessed how the anti-corruption Auditor-General, Mr. Daniel Domelevo, was hounded out of office on flimsy grounds for daring to endorse and approve audit findings made by his staff against members of The Family,” he said.
He further explained that the processes involved in the former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo’s “hounding” out of office, provide even more evidence to that claim.
“In the President Akufo-Addo Government’s desperation for vengeance, the EOCO hauled the Auditor-General for alleged procurement malpractices involving the absence of public procurement authority approval in a case in which the Auditor-General was clearly not involved in the procurement process or of any breaches thereof.
“The revenge exacted by the President on Mr. Daniel Domelevo, as an Auditor General exercising the independent constitutional functions assigned to his office under the Constitution as the Auditor General was a clear interference in the performance of the functions of the Auditor-General by the President for making audit findings against members of The Family and yet the doubting Thomases could not again see nor hear,” he explained.
