[ 2017-05-24 ]

The PPP in a statement said it was “shocked and dismayed over the Attorney General’s withdrawal

Re-arrest Delta Force 8 now - PPP
Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has charged the
governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to immediately
re-arrest the eight members of the political
vigilante group affiliated to the party, Delta
Force, who were freed by a Kumasi Circuit Court,
describing the release as a “disrespect of
justice.”

The eight Delta Force members were standing trial
for aiding the escape of 13 of their members from
lawful custody.

They were however, discharged by a Kumasi Circuit
Court after an advice by State Attorney, Marie
Louise-Simmons, that there was no evidence to back
the charges against the accused persons.

The PPP, in a statement issued recently, said it
was “shocked and dismayed over the Attorney
General’s withdrawal of proceedings against the
Delta eight.”

The party also in the statement slammed the
opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for
displaying levels of hypocrisy and complicity,
insisting that the NDC was a key contributor and
actor in the crisis at hand.

“When the former President John Mahama, granted
pardon to the ‘Montie Three,’ we [including
the NPP then in opposition] rightly condemned
Mahama’s poor judgment. And if today, our
Attorney-General, after examining the docket, has
concluded that there was no evidence to prosecute
the eight members of Delta Force, then we are in
serious trouble as a country,” the statement
said.

According to the PPP, it was struggling to
understand how a state attorney could conclude on
the lack of evidence when the jail break did not
take place in a secluded area.

“What is the extent of the investigation the
Ghana Police Service conducted? In section 1 of
the Ghana Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350), it
is stated: ‘It shall be the duty of the Police
Service to prevent and detect crime, to apprehend
offenders, and to maintain public order and the
safety of persons and property.’ Does this mean
that the police officers who investigated this
case did not know they were to perform their
functions as required by laws conferred upon
them,” the party asked?

The statement further asked: “Where in the world
can a vigilante group besiege a court premise and
take custody of accused persons in daylight? How
could the investigators claim lack of evidence to
enable the Attorney General file for a nolle
prosequi? The world is not going to wait for us,
so we need to get serious in this country.”

…How can our security be guaranteed if it is the
belief of the Attorney General that a bad excuse
is better than none? Has it not been these same
excuses, and the lack of interest from the
previous Attorneys General which led to the state
losing millions of Ghana cedis as judgment debt
payments? The invisible hands who are fuelling
this impunity must bow down their heads in
shame.”

“We wish to reiterate our commitment to
institute an effective criminal justice system
which will be capable of investigating and
adjudicating criminal offences successfully,
through an impartial and non-discriminatory
process, free of corruption and improper
government influence.”

According to the statement, the PPP was not
oblivious of the fact that in “our criminal
justice system, the government retains broad
discretion as to whom to prosecute. But this does
not also mean that we should allow ourselves to be
haunted by the stark images of impunity and abuse
of power.”

In view of this, the statement called on the
Supreme Court to act forcefully on individuals who
had scandalised the court, lowered its authority,
and also brought the image of the court into
disrepute.

The statement noted that any attempt to use state
power to close the eyes to indiscipline is bound
to boomerang with dangerous consequences.

“You will agree with us that the time for
Ghanaians to buy into the PPP’s position for the
separation of the Attorney General from the
Ministry of Justice is now.”

…We wish to emphasise that under a PPP
government, there would be two separate judiciary
offices, a Chief State Prosecutor (CSP) nominated
by the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) on the advice
of the Judicial Council, while Parliament would
then approve the Minister of Justice. The Chief
State Prosecutor would be responsible for the
initiation and conduct of all prosecutions of all
criminal offenses, and we shall ensure that no one
institutes any prosecutions in the name of the
Republic without the authority of the Chief State
Prosecutor,” the statement said.

It indicated that the Minister of Justice under a
PPP administration shall be the Minister of State
and the principal legal advisor to the
government.

The statement was optimistic that under the PPP
administration, the Minister of Justice will
discharge such other duties of legal nature as
might be referred or assigned to him or her by the
President or imposed on that office by the
constitution.

“We wish to remind Ghanaians that during the
2016 campaign, we were clear in our minds that
real change would only happen if we voted for the
PPP and that voting for either of the two would
bring chaos. The truth is, we get what we vote
for,” it averred.

The statement therefore assured that a future PPP
government will not condone any act of lawlessness
and as a political party, “we wish to state
unambiguously that the posture by the NPP
prosecutor calls for all to rebuke it knowing that
our inability to do anything will only allow
further evil to triumph.”

“As Ghanaians, we credit ourselves with
stability in government transition, but we must
not be so cocky as to ignore the real threats in
front of us. There are fissures in our system,
cracks that must be addressed, leaks that must be
stopped and fully repaired, or we will be
surprised by a sudden flood. Let us watch, pray,
and act now,” the statement submitted.

Source - todaygh.com

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