The Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) says he is “a bit confused” by the Special Prosecutor’s rejection of their petition to probe “alleged thievery and corruption in the fight against galamsey.”

Mensah Thompson said some of the reasons given by the Office of Special Prosecutor are contrary to the office’s position in the past while the other reasons are just not tenable.

The Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu, in reply to ASEPA’s petition, said the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service is better mandated to handle the issue.

According to him, since the police CID has also commenced investigations into a similar matter, it will not be in the interest of the country to spend money on a new process elsewhere.

The Office also explained that it cannot establish acts of corruption or corrupt related offences mandated by its binding law to investigate.

“A review of your letter of complaint, however, has led this office to the conclusion that the facts and conjectures upon which you underpin your complaints do not raise any issues of corruption and corruption-related offences as narrowly defined under section 79 of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) to warrant an investigation by this office” a statement signed by Mr. Amidu read.

But responding to these, Mr. Thompson said the Special Prosecutor in 2019 asserted his authority when the CID released a report clearing former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining Charles Bissue of complicity in undermining the fight against illegal mining, otherwise known as galamsey.

If the Special Prosecutor, Mr. Thompson recounted, asserted his jurisdiction to investigate such cases then, “what has changed now.”

On the description of the facts submitted in their petition as conjectures, Mr. Thompson said Amidu had no authority to do so.

The ASEPA boss also questioned how the evidence would help the police CID if it was conjecture since Mr. Amidu indicated he has submitted them to the police.

He said they would meet with their lawyers to discuss further steps to take which may include heading to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) as suggested by the Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Kojo Asante.