Special Prosecutor Is Not A Judge; He Can’t Clear Mahama – Dep. Health Minister | Politics

Deputy Health Minister, Alexander Akwasi Acquah has punched former President John Dramani Mahama over the report by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) exonerating him from corruption in connection to the infamous Airbus saga.

The Special Prosecutor, in his investigative report, established that Mr. Mahama did not receive bribe nor engage in any corrupt practice in relation to the purchase of three military aircraft from aerospace giants, Airbus.

“The OSP found no evidentiary basis that suggests that former President John Dramani Mahama or any other public official was induced to improperly favour or did improperly favour Airbus in respect of the purchase by the Government of Ghana of military transport aircraft from Airbus”, the OSP stated.

The OSP therefore cleared the former President and leader of the National Democratic Congress, saying “the Special Prosecutor has directed the closure of the OSP investigation into alleged bribery of high-ranking Ghanaian officials by Airbus SE, through intermediaries, in respect of the sale of military transport aircraft by Airbus SE to the Republic of Ghana between 2009 and 2015”.

But Alexander Akwasi Acquah finds the OSP’s report inconclusive, stating the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng is not a Judge.

“OSP is a prosecutor, special prosecutor. He is not a Judge, therefore cannot clear any person of wrongdoing”, he replied.

He explained on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show that the duty of Mr. Agyebeng is to investigate a matter and prosecute a person for a wrongdoing, hence he has no power to acquit anyone.

“It is only a court of competent jurisdiction”, he stressed, that can tell whether or not Mahama is guilty of the accusations leveled against him in the Airbus brouhaha.

He added that the issue is not over because, to him, what Ghanaians wanted to know was who the “Governor Official 1” cited in the Airbus scandal was, so Mahama being identified as “Governor Official 1” doesn’t conclude the investigations but rather the matter is yet to begin as it will take a court to establish the truth.

Background

Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer, was alleged to have paid bribes in Ghana when it sold three military aircraft to the country.

The allegations, resulting from a series of investigations and prosecutions of Airbus by the US, the UK and France authorities, led President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to refer the case to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for investigations in February 2020.

After nearly four years of investigations by authorities in the USA, the UK and France into the operations of Airbus ended in the company being fined $3.9 billion for its corrupt practices in Ghana, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Taiwan.