Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor of Ghana, in a scathing rebuke, has denounced citizens who enable and support corrupt officials, saying they are complicit in perpetuating the problem.
Since taking office in 2021, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has come under scrutiny for its alleged inaction on high-profile scandals, causing public outrage.
Despite that, Agyebeng, speaking at the 5th Annual Constitution Day Public Lecture on Friday, February 28, 2025, revealed that citizens distrust anti-corruption institutions, believing they are influenced by politics and ineffective in holding elites accountable.
“Citizens view anti-corruption law enforcement institutions as largely hindered by political marginalization and thus part of the problem. This is because citizens perceive a high incidence of impunity amongst the elites, as they should, and that corruption investigations would ultimately amount to nothing and yield no consequences,” he said.
He further disclosed that although citizens correctly condemn corruption among officials, they also contribute to the problem by supporting or participating in corrupt activities themselves.
“I do not blame them. Further, citizens view those in authority as the problem and are quick to condemn corruption attendant upon official acts, as they should. Yet citizens play a significant role in the problem through acts of open support for official corruption and sometimes participation in the same,” he added.
In 2021, former president Akufo-Addo officially swore into office Kissi Agyebeng as the Special Prosecutor. The 47-year-old lawyer took over from Martin Amidu, who resigned from office in November 2020.
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FKA
