Political scientist Professor Ransford Gyampo has warned that Ghana’s fight against corruption risks being undermined unless prosecutions are backed by strong evidence and handled by competent prosecutors, following a recent Court of Appeal judgment.
Reacting to the former MASLOC boss, Sedina Tamakloe’s ruling, Prof. Gyampo argued that the decision should serve as a wake-up call for authorities rather than fuel emotional reactions.
“The judgement of the Appeals Court speaks to tremendous flaws that should pale emotional sentiments. In a liberal state, optics can’t transcend rules and rights. The proper fight against corruption should be intolerant of prosecutorial incompetence!”
His comments come at a time when public expectations of the government’s anti-corruption agenda remain high. Since assuming office, President John Mahama has pledged to tackle corruption through a number of initiatives, including Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), raising hopes among many Ghanaians for stronger accountability.
Prof. Gyampo acknowledged those expectations but stressed that the fight against corruption must be conducted within the confines of the law.
According to him, convictions can only be secured through evidence-based prosecutions led by skilled legal professionals who understand the law, due process and the protection of human rights.
“We must have watertight evidence, and we must prosecute well through competent and well-trained prosecutors who know the processes, the laws, the rules and appreciate human rights.
“Otherwise, we may have very guilty people being left off the hook all the time because of prosecutorial incompetence.”
He argued that arresting and prosecuting suspected corrupt public officials alone would not be enough if prosecutors left gaps that could later be exploited on appeal.
“We can catch all the supposed corrupt public officials, and line them up in courts of competent jurisdictions. But incompetent prosecutions would leave loopholes that may be exploited through the appellate judicial systems to secure acquittals and discharges.”
He cautioned that such outcomes could weaken the country’s anti-corruption efforts.
“In this way, we may always either be romancing a stone in our fight against corruption or fetching water with a basket.”
Prof. Gyampo also urged the Attorney General to challenge the Court of Appeal’s ruling at the Supreme Court to obtain legal clarity.
“Let the AG go to the Supreme Court to test the judgment of the appeals court just for the purposes of ensuring that elite technicalities do not always triumph over bourgeois crimes.”
He, however, maintained that the long-term solution lies in strengthening the quality of prosecutions.
“But more importantly, let our AG ensure competent, watertight and evidence-based prosecutions that secure proper convictions that can only be overturned through pardon and the exercise of the prerogative of mercy by the President,” he said.
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