Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has urged the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to move beyond arrests and swiftly prosecute individuals implicated in the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) and Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) corruption scandal.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points, Kpebu acknowledged the OSP’s recent progress but stressed that arrests alone do not amount to justice.
“We will wait for the day the case makes it to court. If the case has not gone to court and is concocted, then you haven’t done anything. I won’t celebrate the arrest too much, but it is not a criminal conviction. Double up and enter the court,” he said.
The lawyer noted that the public had long demanded accountability in the SML-GRA deal, which was initially downplayed under the previous administration.
“Finally, there is some accountability. When this story broke in the previous administration, because President Akufo-Addo was the clearing agent, he quickly got KPMG to issue a report. A lot of CSOs said KPMG shouldn’t do it because KPMG had too many contracts from the Akufo-Addo government.”
He described the OSP’s action as delayed but welcomed, adding:
“OSP has been slow, but finally it is okay, they have come.”
The SML deal, involving questionable revenue assurance contracts with the GRA, has led to the arrest of several former public officials and individuals linked to the company.
