The Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin A.B.A. Amidu says he is
still investigating Mr Charles Cromwell Nanabanyin Onuawonto Bissue, the former
Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal Mining (IMCIM) over
corruption allegations in spite of the fact that Mr Bissue is said to have been
exonerated from all corruption allegations by the Criminal Investigations
Department (CID).
According to him, his office has not yet cleared
Mr Bissue of corruption allegations brought against him by ace investigative
journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye P.I.
Mr Bissue was captured in a documentary that
Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye P.I produced on the menace of illegal
mining in Ghana.
In the documentary, Mr Bissue was seen allegedly
taking money to help an unlicensed company to circumvent laid down processes to
be given clearance for its mining operations.
The documentary also captured other people
tasked with the responsibility to help the state to fight galamsey (illegal mining)
allegedly circumventing the very duty they were entrusted with.
Reacting to news reports on Accra-based Citi FM
on Monday morning, July 22, 2019, that Mr Bissue has been cleared of all
corruption allegations in the said documentary by the CID, Mr Amidu said the
police has no jurisdiction to clear Mr Bissue and his other colleague, one Andy
Owusu of corruption charges.
He explained that Anas and his team petitioned
his office in February this year, following the release of the documentary in
which his office replied the petition in the same month and assured Anas and
his team that his office would take the matter up.
Mr Amidu added that his office commenced
investigations, but before he could invite the suspects, Mr Bissue and Andy
Owusu, he read a report in the media in which Mr Bissue claimed he was being
investigated by the CID and that his complainant should go to the CID to make
his case.
“I read a newspaper publication in which Charles
Bissue said that the CID was investigating his case and that the complainant
should go there and make their evidence,” he said.
According to him, soon after he read the said
newspaper publication, he wrote to the Director-General of the CID “to tell her
that the offences of corruption have been apportioned to the office of the
Special Prosecutor” and that his office (office of the Special Prosecutor) has
been petitioned in the matter the CID was allegedly investigating.
Mr Amidu said since the CID had no jurisdiction
in the matter and he also didn’t want duplicity of his work, he told the CID
boss to stop with the investigation.
According to him, the CID boss wrote back to him
and said she had been instructed by the Minister of Environment, Science,
Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, who is also the
Chairman of the IMCIM, as well as the Minister of Interior to investigate the
case.
That, the SP said “I wrote objecting very
strongly and then I began the investigation.”
According to him, “I wrote to the Chief of Staff
to release Bissue”, explaining that Mr Bissue was released and that his office
took statement from him.
Mr Amidu said all the parties accused of
corruption allegations were invited and statement taken from them, adding that
the complainant, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, was also invited and statement taken from
him.
He said although Anas has sent some videos to
the office concerning the issue, he (Mr Amidu) had not personally seen the
video because “I’m not the investigator.”
He said when the investigators were done with
their investigations, the docket would be sent to his office for further
actions, saying “the case is with us.”
Mr Amidu said he had written to the CID and
copied the Minister of Interior as well as the Jubilee House over the issue
that the CID did not have the jurisdiction to concurrently investigate the
matter with the office of the Special Prosecutor.
He said he would allow anyone to interfere with
his mandate by choosing to send cases that suit them to the police and not
allowing his office to take charge.
According to him, both Mr Bissue and Andy Owusu
were on bail and that the decision by the Minister of Interior to direct the
police to investigate the case was a political decision.
Charles Bissue Not Exonerated -Special Prosecutor
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