Political scientist Professor Ransford Gyampo has cautioned that Ghana’s efforts to combat corruption could be undermined unless prosecutions are supported by compelling evidence and handled by competent legal professionals.
Reacting to the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, Prof. Gyampo said the ruling should prompt a critical review of prosecutorial standards rather than emotional public reactions.
“The judgment 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,” he said.
His remarks come amid heightened public expectations of the government’s anti-corruption agenda. Since taking office, President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to strengthen accountability through initiatives such as Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), raising hopes for more decisive action against corruption.
While acknowledging these expectations, Prof. Gyampo stressed that the fight against corruption must be firmly rooted in the rule of law. He argued that successful convictions depend on evidence-based prosecutions led by well-trained prosecutors who understand legal procedures, due process and 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.”
According to Prof. Gyampo, arresting and prosecuting suspected corrupt public officials alone is insufficient if weaknesses in the prosecution’s case create opportunities for convictions to be overturned on appeal.
“We can catch all the supposed corrupt public officials and line them up in courts of competent jurisdiction. But incompetent prosecutions would leave loopholes that may be exploited through the appellate judicial systems to secure acquittals and discharges.”
He warned that such outcomes could erode public confidence in Ghana’s anti-corruption campaign.
“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, arguing that a definitive ruling from the country’s highest court would provide legal clarity on the issues raised in the case.
“Let the Attorney-General go to the Supreme Court to test the judgment of the Appeals Court just for the purpose of ensuring that elite technicalities do not always triumph over bourgeois crimes.”
Despite advocating an appeal, Prof. Gyampo maintained that the long-term solution lies in improving the quality of criminal prosecutions.
“More importantly, let our Attorney-General 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.
