A private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu has advised Special Prosecutor-nominee, Kissi Agyebeng to use a different approach and strategy in prosecuting corruption and corruption-related offences.
The Attorney General announced the nomination of the Chairman of the Electronic Communications Tribunal, Kissi Agyebeng, as the next Special Prosecutor, on Monday, April 26, 2021.
If vetted and approved by Parliament, Mr. Agyebeng will replace Martin Amidu, who resigned from the position on November 15, 2020.
Martin Kpebu believes Mr. Agyebeng may face practical challenges in the new role, notwithstanding his unquestionable qualification and experience.
“The question is that can Mr. Kissi Agyebeng withstand the forces of the criminal world? These criminal enterprises are very well-organised. They have powerful people in society. So what I am saying is that, if you look at the offences that are involved, procurement offences, and all the corruption offences, you will see from experience that you don’t really have to contend with the suspects, but you have to contend with his chief, pastor, and so many other influential people in society and that is what has always been a problem. So you see that where there is a likelihood that prosecuting one person will cause so much disaffection in the community he hails from because he is connected to the leadership in that community, or he is a very powerful person is very high, those are the real problems. Nobody can tell.”
He added that in spite of the difficulty he could face, he should be given the opportunity to prove himself.
He also advised him to consider the practice of plea bargaining.
“We can only allow Mr. Agyebeng to come into the office and see how he can negotiate his way. And from sharing ideas with other lawyers, we think that perhaps when Mr. Agyebeng takes office, he can increase the practice of plea bargaining.”