In every civilized society such as ours, one of the democratic principles that must be allowed to thrive is the rule of law. That is the allowance of the law to reign supreme in the land and the opportunity for every citizen to be accorded the same rights before the law. In the absence of the rule of law, what happens is chaos, anarchy, lack of progress, and arbitrariness. It is an undeniable fact that most people, especially politicians in our country have been unfairly and unjustifiably incarcerated, killed, or have their freedoms curtailed because they were denied the privilege to defend themselves in a court of competent jurisdiction or their convictions were predetermined by the powers that be. These people were not given the equal opportunity to defend themselves, especially the victims during the military junta. And since Ghana, an iconic country on our continent has chosen the good path of allowing democracy to be the hub of our development, then we should respect the fundamentals of democracy of which the rule of law is always held in high esteem.

Based upon the above stated case, I find the calls by certain individuals and groups in the country for president Mills to prosecute former government officials as unfortunate and preposterous. I am no lawyer, but think the government should do due diligence and make sure that they have collected enough evidence before proceeding to the court. These ugly calls are persecution, and not prosecution. I would like to make my take on this issue succinctly clear. President Mills was elected by the good people of the country to rule, and as a result has the responsibility to pursue the interests of the people. In ruling, Ghanaians expect him to ensure that all our scarce resources that have been wrongly diverted into the pockets of unscrupulous individuals are accounted for, and he knows that very well. I sincerely believe that most Ghanaians love their country, and as such would not hold breath for any individuals in the former administration who have dipped their dirty hands in our national kitty. All such people should be made to face the full rigors of the law, but must be given a fair trial. My beef on this matter is very simple, let the law, and not man determine the fate of these people, who based on undisputable evidence are found to have embezzled state funds.

Since the coming into office of the Mills administration, certain leading officials of the government, notably President Rawlings, Major general Nunoo Mensah- the national security advisor, Asiedu Nketia- general secretary of the ruling NDC, among others and groups such as the CJA have been continuously calling on the president to prosecute corrupt former government officials. And I find these calls, though legitimate, preposterous. By the way, how can they, in the wildest of their imagination think that the president will not prosecute all those individuals who are found to have looted the economy based on evidence and not tough talking? Since when did the national security advisor become the state’s prosecutor? Ghana is a democratic country and not a military junta. Ghana is not Myanmar or the PNDC era where the rights of the Ghanaian were determined not by the law, but according to the whims of the authorities. If this government has a personal score to settle, it should not be at the expense of the economy. In the eyes of right thinking Ghanaians, these pronouncements smack of a conspiracy and an avid desire to both persecute and prosecute former government officials without recourse to the law. These comments are persecutional, and show some elements of naivety.

What is worrying, though, in my opinion is the recent call by Kwesi Pratt Jr. on the President “to crack the damned whip?” Mr. Pratt, what did you mean by your statement? Were you by your statement insinuating that the President is weak, slow, or reluctant to bring all those perceived corrupt former officials to justice? The answer is a bloody no, sir! And Mr. Pratt should have known better since he thinks he knows everything under the sun, from archaeology to zoology (A to Z). Your pronouncement, Mr. Pratt suggests that some of these individuals, if not all are guilty, and must not even be made to defend themselves in a court of law or to be a bit charitable, they will surely be incarcerated if they were even given the opportunity to defend themselves. That is why you got it dead wrong. You are always innocent until you are found otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction. And again the rule of the game is evidence and due process and not just shooting our mouths off. This is not the time for witch hunting, but “wellness” hunting. It is about how to hunt jobs for the jobless who are always hunting non-existing jobs. It is about how to hunt jobs for the youth, who out of frustration are resorting to crude and quick (“sikaduro”, fraud, etc) ways of getting rich.

Instead of putting undue pressure on the President to go after perceived corrupt former officials, which I think in a way is contributing to his recent gaffes; we should allow him to give his undivided attention to the development of the economy and the people. He has to be focused so as to get the job he was elected to execute done. If we have any pressure to put on the president and his administration, it should be that of the economy, and all the indicators (strengthening the anti-corruption institutions, curbing the spate of crime and armed robbery, investing in the people, etc., etc.) that come together to improve the lives of the hoi polloi.

About the prosecution of perceived corrupt former government officials spare the President and his administration the time needed to accumulate the needed evidence. It is easier said than done! God bless Ghana!!

Source: Kingsley Nyarko, PhD, Educational Consultant, IAF- Munich