Renowned private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has emphasized the need for greater transparency and accountability in the Attorney-General’s decision-making process, particularly in relation to the recent discontinuation of high-profile cases.
Speaking on TV3’s The Key Points, Kpebu argued that when the Attorney-General (A-G) decides to withdraw a case, the reasons behind such a move should be clearly outlined for public scrutiny.
According to him, this would allow Ghanaians to assess whether the decision is justifiable or merely politically motivated.
“You see, just saying ‘I’ve stopped this case’ is opaque. At least analyze for us—maybe X, Y, and Z are the reasons for stopping the case. Then we can scrutinize the reasons. If they don’t hold, it means you have to go back,” Kpebu asserted on February 8.
He cited the controversial case of current Minister of Finance Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, where an alleged leaked conversation between former Attorney-General Godfred Dame and a witness raised serious concerns about political interference in the judicial process.
Kpebu noted that this case highlighted how legal proceedings were sometimes manipulated for political ends, making it all the more necessary for the A-G to provide clear justifications when discontinuing cases.
Kpebu also revisited the long-running case of Gregory Afoko, who has been on remand for nearly eight years over the murder of the late Upper East Regional Chairman of the NPP, Adams Mahama.
He described the continued detention of Afoko as unfair and politically motivated, calling for his immediate release.
“Let’s grant Gregory Afoko bail. Akufo-Addo has punished him too much because of his brother Paul Afoko. We shouldn’t use executive power for personal vendetta,” Kpebu insisted.
He further stressed that assigning reasons for discontinuing cases would strengthen Ghana’s democracy, enhance accountability, and prevent abuse of prosecutorial powers.
“The Supreme Court has reiterated in many constitutional cases that the bedrock of our Constitution is probity, accountability, and transparency. Assigning reasons helps our democracy, just like the publication of assets declared by public officers,
” he added.
However, the Director of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress, Edudzi Tamekloe, disagreed with Mr Kpebu.
He opined that providing reasons will lead to the opening of the pandora’s box.
