Member of Parliament for Efutu constituency in the Central Region, Alexander Afenyo Markin, says fears that Martin Amidu will use his Special Prosecutor’s Office to witch-hunt former government officials in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are unfounded.

“[Martin Amidu] doesn’t have the power [to witch-hunt]. He is not going to be the judge. The fact that he is a Special Prosecutor does not make him the judge. He is supposed to abide the known principles in our criminal jurisprudence.

“For each offence that he may want to charge a person with, peculiar ingredients must be found; lead evidence on those peculiar ingredients and make a case beyond reasonable doubt, or establish a prima facie and all that. So nobody should be worried. Who is he going to witch-hunt?” he said.

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) legislator was speaking on new analysis programme, Newsfile, on Joy FM/Multi TV, Saturday.

The member of Parliament’s Defense and Interior Committee was commenting on speculations by some members of the opposition NDC that, Martin Amidu, who was fired as Attorney General in the John Mills-led NDC administration, will channel bitter disagreements with the party into unwarranted prosecution.

Martin Amidu

President Akufo-Addo last Thursday shocked members of both NDC and NPP with the appointment of Mr Amidu, a man whose unrelenting anti-corruption fight came to the fore following a bitter legal battle with the NDC government over graft allegations.

He has single-handedly gone to court to secure a favourable ruling for the state in a judgement debt case that the Attorney General in the NDC government has failed to pursue.

Mr Amidu, known popularly as Citizen Vigilante, once vowed to fight the NDC with his last breath.

With the new appointment, Mr Amidu’s office will have the mandate to investigate and prosecute cases of alleged corruption under the Public Procurement Act 203 Act 63 and other corruption-related offences implicating public officers, political office holders and their accomplices.

He becomes the first head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, an institution Nana Akufo-Addo hopes to fight deep-seated corruption that remains a major problem in Ghana's public administration.

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Speaking on Newsfile, Mr Afenyo Markin, who is also a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, said he is confident that, contrary to the negative interpretations being given by members of NDC about the appointment, the President has taken a step that will promote good governance.

“When a party wins power, the expectation is that party people will be considered, because after all when it gets to fighting for power, it is party people who sacrifice. But Mr President has demonstrated that he believes in the Ghanaian agenda; which means that you can cross over, look out for specific qualities, although you may have it at your backyard, you can cross over and look out for special qualities and make the pronouncement for the general good of governance.

“At this stage of our democracy, that is the kind of leader we need,” he said on Newsfile.

Afenyo Markin is certain that with the experience that Mr Amidu has gathered in his many years as Attorney General, he is not likely to prosecute current or past public officials on unfounded or whimsical grounds.

“If he goes on flimsy grounds he will be defeated and that will be an embarrassment. So there should be no worries. It is good for Ghana,” said Afenyo Markin.

Watch that part of the discussion on Newsfile in the video link below.