Kenneth Kwabena Agyei Kuranchie, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Searchlight newspaper, has petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to remove Kissi Agyebeng from his position as Special Prosecutor.
According to Mr. Kuranchie, this request stems from alleged instances of misconduct by Mr. Agyebeng, including accusations of willfully violating his official oath and oath of secrecy.
Kuranchie further claims that Agyebeng has acted in ways that could be detrimental to the economy or security of the state.
In a letter to the president dated October 18, 2024, Mr Kuranchie noted that “Petitioner presents this petition for the removal of the Special Prosecutor, Mr. Kissi Agyebeng, on the authority of Section 15. (1) of the Special Prosecutor Act, (Act 959) of 2017. Section 15.(1) provides for the statutory methods by which the Special Prosecutor may be removed from office. It is titled ‘Removal of the Special Prosecutor’. The said section states; “The Special Prosecutor shall not be removed from office except for…”
“(a) stated misbehaviour or incompetence; (b) incapacity to perform the functions of the Office by reason of infirmity of body and mind; (c) willful violation of the Official Oath and Oath of Secrecy; (d) conduct which; (i) brings or is likely to bring the Office of the Special Prosecutor into disrepute, ridicule or contempt; or “(ii) is prejudicial or inimical to the economy or security of the State.” over alleged misconduct.”
He alleged that Mr Agyebeng has had security checks/polygraphing conducted on about eighty percent (80%) of the staff of the Office.
“Petitioner states, first, that this work was not done by the N.I.B, and second, this work was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), an agency of the government of the United States of America, a foreign nation,” he added.
Mr Kuranchie said these acts were in breach of the laws of Ghana as enacted by Parliament, and that these acts of contracting a foreign agency to conduct security checks and evaluation of staff of an entity such as the Office of Special Prosecutor amount to ‘stated misbehaviour’ in that these acts are contrary to the laws of Ghana, as will be demonstrated presently.
“Petitioner also states that these acts amount to willful violation of the Official Oath and Oath of Secrecy; and are prejudicial or inimical to the economy or security of the State,” he added.
Mr Kuranchie further underscored that these acts by the special prosecutor were in breach of the Data Protection Act.
He said these made the special prosecutor incompetent to act in such capacity as “specified under Section 15.(1)(a) of Act 959 and therefore ought to be removed from office as Special Prosecutor.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa has therefore referred the petition to the Chief Justice to determine whether there is a prima facie case.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in July this year dismissed a lawsuit filed by Kenneth Kwabena Agyei Kuranchie, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Searchlight Newspaper, challenging the constitutionality of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
Mr. Kuranchie had previously filed a case against the Attorney General (AG) and the OSP, seeking a Supreme Court ruling to declare the OSP unconstitutional.
In his writ, Mr Kuranchie requested the Supreme Court to declare the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (ACT 957) as being in violation of several articles of the 1992 Constitution. The act in question was established to allow the OSP to investigate specific allegations or suspicions of corruption and corruption-related offences involving public officers, politically exposed persons, and individuals in the private sector.
Mr. Kuranchie had filed a similar case against the OSP last year, which he later discontinued a few months ago before filing a new case recently.
