Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has disclosed that all members of the government’s former Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) are subjects of ongoing investigations into their alleged involvement in illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is currently investigating a report by the former chairman of the dissolved IMCIM, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, which implicated some prominent figures within the Akufo-Addo administration.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng was recently arrested by the OSP to answer questions regarding suspected corruption and corruption-related offenses related to the activities of the dissolved committee.
In an interview, the Special Prosecutor indicated that everyone mentioned in the report will be treated as a suspect.
“In the estimation of the Office, there are no saints,” Mr. Agyebeng said.
He explained that if he approached the fight against corruption with the mindset that there are people in society who are immune from corruption, the fight would be flawed.
“In fighting corruption, if there is the mindset that there are persons in society that have attained sainthood, we will lose the fight against corruption. Our mandate is to fight corruption and corruption-related issues. As for the number of people mentioned in the report, every single person is going to appear before us.”
The Special Prosecutor also questioned the public’s readiness to fight corruption and the willingness to allow the institutions mandated to fight corruption to do so freely.
“Are we ready to fight corruption and if we are ready to fight corruption, can we allow the institutions that have been set up to fight corruption to fight corruption?
“Can we not consecrate people as saints and hand them to the Special Prosecutor that as far as we are concerned, this is the list of saints that have been consecrated and that these people cannot be questioned and considered as persons of interest to you no matter what.”
