Kissi Agyebeng will succeed as Special Prosecutor – Dominic Ayine

A former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, is hopeful that Special Prosecutor-nominee, Kissi Agyebeng will succeed in his role if approved.

The Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, nominated the law lecturer and private legal practitioner as the replacement for Martin Amidu, who resigned from the position in November 2020.

Dr. Dominic Ayine, who worked with Kissi Agyebeng for five years, believes his learned colleague will do a good job.

“We worked together cumulatively for five years before he set up his law firm. I have had several conversations with him regarding criminal prosecution, and I know that if something is against his conscience and his professional judgment, he will not do it,” he said on Eyewitness News.

In a letter to the Presidency, the Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, said he was satisfied that “Kissi Agyebeng possesses the requisite expertise on corruption and corruption-related matters, is of high moral character and proven integrity and satisfies all the other requirements stipulated in section 13(1) and (2) of Act 959,” hence he is the right person to occupy the vacant position.

Touching on the nominee’s criminal law expertise in the field of play, Dr. Ayine said it will be of enormous benefit to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

“I think Kissi Agyebeng should be looked at on his own experience as a legal practitioner and as a law lecturer. Those are the two things we need to take into account in judging him. His track record as a defence attorney is fantastic, we need to take that into account. In terms of the criminal law area, I think he is miles ahead of Martin Amidu. He comes with a lot of experience in criminal matters, he added.

The nomination
Section 13(8) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) requires the President to appoint a person qualified for appointment as Special Prosecutor within six months of the Office becoming vacant.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor has the mandate to investigate and prosecute all suspected corruption and corruption-related offences as pertaining to public officers, politically exposed persons and persons in the private sector alleged to have been involved in any corruption and corruption-related offences.

Apart from initiating investigations on its own, Act 959 gives the Office of the Special Prosecutor the power to receive and investigate complaints of alleged corruption from the public or investigate suspected corruption or corruption-related offences upon referral from public bodies such as the Attorney General’s Department, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

Kissi Agyebeng was called to the Ghana Bar in October 2003 and holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Ghana, as well as, Master of Laws (LLM) degrees from Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Canada and Cornell Law School, USA.

He has, since 2006, been teaching Criminal Law at the University of Ghana, whilst engaging in private law practice.