Professor Kofi Agyekum, the head of the School of Performing Arts,
University of Ghana, has lamented that the slow pace of justice delivery
in corruption-related cases is a major reason for which corruption
still festers in the country.
He observed that “the citizenry never get to know the end of many cases
of corruption due to apathy on the part of parties involved in such
cases, a situation which emboldens the perpetrators of the crime to
continue with same.
“I believe justice is too slow when people are found culpable in
corruption cases, the parties adopt all forms of strategies, legal
gymnastics including prosecutors absenting themselves from the courts
amid various alibi, excuses and we often don’t get to the bottom of such
issues.
“And what happens usually is that the citizenry tends to blame the
government of the day, particularly the president for not doing enough
in the fight against corruption without recourse to happenings within
the legal chain,” Prof Agyekum bemoaned.
His sentiments are in response to the president’s decisions on
corruption allegations levelled against some of his appointees, which
comments have since provoked mixed reactions from various members and
entities of the public including political parties, pressure groups,
corporate social organizations, and individuals.
In a careful manner to avoid a suggestion of persecution, Professor
Agyekum appealed to judges to consider finding means to ensure
corruption cases that come before them are dealt with in a reasonably
pacy manner to repose confidence in the public as well as deter
potential offenders.
“The president, in a bid to dispel suggestions he may be shielding his
appointees, make public reports ‘clearing’ those accused of one
allegation or the other when reports are completed, how long is it
expected to stay at the presidency before it is made public?
“There are several reports which are yet to be made public, I do not
understand why the government will sit on them when nothing stops them
from publishing, in the interest of transparency, probity, and
accountability, the government ought to publish such documents to reduce
the level of corruption perception the citizenry have about them,” Prof
Agyekum pointed out.
