The Human Rights Court 2 presided by Justice Nicholas M.C has restrained the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) from arresting the former Secretary of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) Charles Bissue. Subsequently, the OSP is restrained from making any other applications for an Arrest Warrant and publishing notices purporting Mr Bissue to be wanted.
The orders of the high court are to be upheld pending the determination of the substantive matter at the court. The court has been adjourned to 22 June 2023.
The OSP had on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, declared Charles Bissue wanted, owing to an investigation it had initiated into the works of the defunct IMCIM, especially in respect of the seizure and management of excavators, machinery, road vehicles and gold nuggets; and use of public office for profit. But Mr Bissue said it was rather unfortunate the OSP made such a publication, arguing it had caused him to be vilified by the publication and the global community.
He clarified that he couldn’t have honoured the OSP’s invitation at a specified date due to a domestic emergency, adding that his request to reschedule his attendance to the OSP’s office was “unjustifiably” discarded. Mr Bissue intimated that he would attend to the OSP’s office for the necessary investigation to be taken in respect of his stewardship as Secretary to the IMCIM.
He believed going to the OSP would bring closure to unresolved matters associated with the IMCIM’s work, and also offer him an opportunity to redeem his image.
Cases Pending
An application for interlocutory injunction was filed on 23 December 2022 by the lawyers of Charles Bissue to restrain the OSP from investigating and prosecuting him over allegations contained in the Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ Galamsey Fraud Part 1 documentary. The basis for this writ was that the matter had already been investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service and that the OSP’s quest to review the investigations was questionable. This application according to lawyers of Charles Bissue was necessitated by a rather “unconstitutional” approach the OSP is taking in respect of the matter.
Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, counsel for the plaintiff [Charles Bissue] argued that the legal action was taken as a result of the OSP threat on the rights and freedoms of his client, and the refusal to furnish them with documentation that necessitated its investigation. Joined to this writ are Anas Aremeyaw Anas, and Tiger Eye P.I. The OSP has since opposed the application, and stated categorically in the defence of Anas and Tiger Eye P.I., that they are whistle-blowers and cannot be joined to the suit.
Lawyers of Mr Bissue have also advanced an argument in court to cite the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng for conflict of interest and bias. They argue that the Special Prosecutor is and remains a partner of Anas Aremeyaw Anas in respect of Cromwell and Gray LLP. Kissi Agyebeng working through Cromwell and Gray LLP represented Anas Aremeyaw Anas and Tiger Eye P.I in the days of Martin Amidu’s [former Special Prosecutor] investigation into the Galamsey Fraud saga.
Additionally, a motion for a judicial review has been filed following a publication by former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu that Anas Aremeyaw Anas was a suspect in his investigation of the matter, and that the petition which called for this investigation was authored by Kissi Agyabeng [current Special Prosecutor]. This is made evident in Martin Amidu’s article dated 29 March 2023, titled; “Scandalizing the Court by Cohorts of Anti-Corruption Entrepreneurs”.
