Establish Independent Public Prosecutor - PPP

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) is calling for an urgent establishment of an Independent Public Prosecutor to handle infractions of the law independent of a ruling party.

The party believes the country has to separate the Attorney General from the Minister for Justice.

Touching on the convicted Montie three sentencing, the PPP applauded the Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law and the dignity of the judiciary.

‘The PPP wishes to state that the ruling of the Supreme Court on this matter has dealt a huge blow to the politics of intimidation, violence and abusive words and the court has upheld the rule of law and the dignity of the judiciary. We urge the court to continue to be a vanguard of our fledgling democracy’, Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, Director of Policy said in a statement.

The three contemnors Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn members of NDC and Salifu Maase alias Mugabe (Presenter) were on Wednesday jailed four months each by the Supreme Court.

The trio were found guilty of scandalizing the court, defying and lowering the authority of the Supreme Court and bringing it into disrepute.

The duo, Nelson and Gunn allegedly threatened to “violently silence” the Supreme Court judges if they made any judgment against the Electoral Commission (EC) in the court case that challenged the validity of the voters’ register as proof of citizenship.

Read full details of the statement from PPP

For immediate release

July 28, 2016

THE MUNTIE 3 – CASE FOR INDEPENDENT PROSECUTOR

The matter of the trial and sentencing of the Muntie 3 brings into sharp focus the need to reconsider the urgent need for the establishment of an Independent Public Prosecutor to handle infractions of the law independent of the government and the ruling party.

The trial of the trio and the directors of the company had to be at the instance of the court itself since the Attorney General (AG) was disabled by partisanship to take up the matter of threat of harm and death on members of the judiciary. Even the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) attempted to downplay the seriousness of the threats.

According to the judgment, the Supreme Court recorded that the matter of threat of harm and death belonged to the realm of the executive arm of government and by extension the AG.

The question therefore is that how come the Attorney General failed the nation by NOT exercising its sole burden of making ultimate prosecutorial decisions, as provided for under Article 88(1) of the 1992 Constitution? We believe that the AG who performs the role of Chief Legal Adviser to the government, Minister of State, and guardian of the public interest, is undoubtedly a constitutional crank.

It is obvious that the AG was not interested in addressing the assault on the judges to bring sanity in our political discourse. It is time for Ghana to separate the Attorney General from the Minister for Justice.

The PPP wishes to state that the ruling of the Supreme Court on this matter has dealt a huge blow to the politics of intimidation, violence and abusive words and the court has upheld the rule of law and the dignity of the judiciary. We urge the court to continue to be a vanguard of our fledgling democracy.

(SGD)

Kofi Asamoah-Siaw

Director of Policy