Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has accused the Mahama-led government and Attorney-General Dominic Ayine of conflict of interest and abuse of discretionary power in the controversial discontinuation of the criminal trial against Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and seven others.
In an open letter available to MyNewsGh, Amidu argued that the July 22, 2025, nolle prosequi decision in the Republic v Kwabena Duffuor & 7 Others case raises serious constitutional and legal red flags.
“The Government represented by the President, John Dramani Mahama, is tainted by conflict of interest under Article 286,” Amidu stated, “with the Attorney-General being further tainted with abuse of discretionary power under Article 296.”
Amidu took particular issue with the Attorney-General’s justification that a 60% recovery of state funds lost through alleged financial impropriety was an acceptable threshold to abandon prosecution.
He questioned both the legitimacy and the transparency of this decision:
“This very statement by the Attorney-General is opaque… failing to disclose the ‘other relevant state agencies’ with which he collaborated… and the authority of those agencies to set such conditions.”
According to Amidu, the Attorney-General failed to ensure any judicial acknowledgment of guilt or compensation under Section 35 of the Courts Act or through plea bargaining under Act 1079. Instead, the accused individuals were allowed to walk free “without accountability,” he noted.
He further argued that if such a 60% threshold policy truly existed, it should have been made public:
“As a legal minimum, Article 296(c) of the Constitution requires the Attorney-General to publish regulations governing the exercise of such discretionary powers, which has not been done.”
Calling the move a “shadowy, self-serving” exercise of state power, Amidu asserted that the lack of transparency and adherence to due process threatens public trust in Ghana’s justice system.
He concluded that the Attorney-General’s press release is the first public indication of any such recovery threshold policy, branding it a troubling precedent for future prosecutions.
This latest critique from the former Special Prosecutor is expected to intensify scrutiny of the Mahama administration’s approach to fighting corruption and administering justice.
