The Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North Kwame Andy Appiah-Kubi has said he promised not to disclose the identity of the businessman who he alleged attempted to bribe some lawmakers. He said his only interest in making the public statement about the attempted bribery was to send a clear message to the businessman and others that lawmakers could not be bought.
“I made a promise to him not to disclose his identity,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, January 6. He further indicated that officials of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) who interrogated him on the bribery allegation were unethical in their approach.
He said the officials fought him and ordered him to listen to an interview he granted Joy FM, during the investigation in Parliament, an action he considered unethical. “The OSP officials started fighting me, so I decided to remain silent. They had already come to me with a hostile attitude even in the precincts of Parliament, and they asked the other MPs who came to leave.
“The OSP officials did not understand the ethics of the profession, that you need to show courtesy to everyone who comes before you,” he added. “This intimidatory approach and the disrespect to the other MPs who were asked to leave was not helpful,” he stressed. He added “The OSP officials did not understand the ethics of the profession that you need to show courtesy to everyone who comes before you.
The Special Prosecutor (SP) directed the closure of investigations into allegations that were made by Appiah-Kubi. The lawmaker had alleged that 80 Members of Parliament of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) received a bribe from an unnamed businessman to back down on their demand for the resignation of Mr Ken Ofori-Atta.
According to Mr Kissi Agyebeng, proceeding with investigations will not yield the desired results.
“…the Special Prosecutor directs the closure of the investigation in respect of allegations that a well-known and wealthy businessman attempted to bribe a section of the majority caucus of Parliament. The Special Prosecutor determines that the institution of criminal proceedings, at this time, against the OSP’s identified suspect would serve no useful purpose,” a report dated December 28 sighted by 3News.com indicated.
The SP stated that “The investigation may be re-opened should the circumstances and further facts so dictate.”
“This report is founded on regulation 31(1)(g) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Operations) Regulations, 2018 (L.I. 2374), which mandates the OSP to publish detected acts of corruption through the receipt, collection, or collation of reports, documents, materials, complaints, allegations, information and intelligence,” he wrote.
It would be recalled that the MP for Asante Akim North, Andy Appiah-Kubi alleged that a wealthy businessman attempted to bribe he and 79 of his colleague NPP MPs for them to stop their quest to have Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta removed from office.
By: Laud Nartey
