February 13

WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
DAILY HERITAGE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018
To accomplish great things, we
must not only act, but also dream,
not only plan, but also believe.
—Anatole France
•Dr Dominic Ayine, MP Bolga Central
•Mr Martin Alamisi Amidu,
Special Prosecutor nominee
• Tony Lithur , Lawyer
Amidu too old
BY MUNTALLA INUSAH
muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh
APRIVATE legal
practitioner, Mr
Tony Lithur has,
upon the instructions
of the
Member of Parliament
for Bolga Central, Dr
Dominic Ayine, filed a suit at the
Supreme Court challenging the
eligibility of Special Prosecutor
nominee, Mr Martin Amidu.
Dr Ayine, a former Deputy
Attorney General (AG) under
the erstwhile National Democratic
Congress administration in
his lawsuit contends that Mr
Amidu, 66 years of age, is too
old to hold public office, under
which the Special Prosecutor’s
office falls.
Mr Amidu, a former AG who
has earned himself the name
‘Citizen Vigilante’ for his public
fight against corruption, was
nominated by the President earlier
this year and is expected to
appear before the Appointments
Committee of Parliament today.
The applicant is not seeking
to injunct the process per his suit
at the apex court; he is rather
• To be Special Prosecutor
• Says MP who has dragged the
‘Citizen Vigilante’ to court
seeking among other things a
declaration that “by a true and
proper interpretation of Articles
190(1)(d), 199(1), 199(4), and 295
of the 1992 Constitution, the retirement
age of all holders of
public office created pursuant to
Article(1)(d) is 60 years, anyhow
not beyond (65).”
The 26-page document filed
at the registry of the apex court
further argued that, “any other
interpretation would result in an
unlawful amendment of Article
199 of the Constitution by legislation.”
According to him, sections of
the constitution states that “no
person above the age of 65 years
is eligible for employment in any
public office created under Article
190(1) (d).”
He is, thus, seeking a declaration
from the Supreme Court
that Mr Amidu, “is not qualified
or eligible to be nominated as the
Special Prosecutor under Section
13(3) of the Office of the Special
Prosecutor Act, 2018 (Act
959).
“A declaration that by true
and proper interpretation of article
190(1)(d), 199(1), 199(4) and
294 of the 1992 constitution, the
retirement age of pall holders of
public officers created pursuant
to 190(10d, is 60 years, anyhow
not beyond 65 years.”
The former deputy AG is also
seeking a declaration that “by a
true and proper interpretation of
articles of 190(1)(d), 199(4) of
the 1992 constitution, no person
above the age of 65 is eligible for
employment of any public office
created under article 190 (1)(d).”
He added that, “by reason of
his age, 66 years, Mr amidu is not
qualified or eligible to be nominated
as the Special Prosecutor
under section 13 article three of
the office of the Special Prosecutor,
Act, 2018 Act 959.
According to him, “by reason
of his age, 66 years, Mr Martin
Amidu is not qualified or eligible
to be approved by Parliament as
Special Prosecutor under section
13(3) of the office of the Special
Prosecutor Act, 2018, Act 959.
He contends that, “by reason
of his age, 66 years, Mr amidu is
not qualified or eligible to be appointed
by His Excellency the
President of the Republic as the
Special Prosecutor under secretion
13 (3) of the office of the
Special Prosecutor Act, 2018,
Act 959.”
He is further seeking a declaration
that any purported nomination
by the AG or approval by
Parliament of appointment by
his Excellency the President of
the Republic of Amidu as the
Special Prosecutor under section
13, 3 of the office of the Special
Prosecutor Act, 2018, Act 959 is
unconstitutional and therefore
null and void.
He prayed that, in the event,
“Amidu has already been vetted
and approved by Parliament and
or appointed by his Excellency
the President of the Republic as
the Special Prosecutor under section
13, 3 of the office of the
Special Prosecutor Act, 2018 Act
959 prior to the final determination
of his suit, an order annulling
such nomination
approval and appointment.”