On February 12, 2025, I submitted a Right to Information (RTI) request to the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, seeking access to memos allegedly sent from the Prosecution Department to the former Attorney-General recommending the discontinuation of certain high-profile cases.
After receiving no response within the statutory 14-day period, I proceeded as provided by Section 31 of the RTI Act, 2019 (Act 989) to request an internal review on March 3, 2025. That, too, was met with silence.
I was left with no choice but to escalate the matter to the Right to Information Commission, the independent statutory body established to enforce compliance with the RTI Act.
In a response dated April 14, 2025, the Commission acknowledged receipt of my complaint but noted that the information I sought was deemed classified and thus not accessible under the Act.
Yet, during his vetting on February 27, Justice Srem Sai, who had not been appointed Deputy Attorney-General at the time, openly admitted that he had seen those same memos in his private capacity as a Ghanaian. So the question every Ghanaian must now ask is: How does a private individual access what is now deemed “classified,” while a sitting Member of Parliament is denied that same access?
Three possibilities emerge and all are damning:
- The memos are not classified, and the Attorney-General is deliberately hiding behind a false label.
- The memos are classified, and Justice Srem Sai unlawfully accessed them and must be held accountable.
- The memos never existed in the first place, and the Attorney-General fabricated their existence in an attempt to justify political interference in the justice system.
Whichever way you look at it, someone is lying. And not just lying to Parliament but to Ghanaians who deserve better.
This is not mere bureaucratic red tape. This is a deliberate affront to transparency, an insult to the rule of law, and a betrayal of public trust.
If the Attorney-General has any respect left for the people he serves, he must answer one simple question: Did the memos ever exist? If they did, why are they classified for some and conveniently accessible to others? And if they didn’t, then let it be said plainly the Attorney-General LIED to the nation.
And that is my firm conclusion: The memos never existed. The Attorney-General fabricated them. And Ghanaians deserve not just answers but an apology!
*VINCENT EKOW ASSAFUAH*
*MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT*
*OLD TAFO*
