The prosecution of the former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Tsatsu Tsikata, was not for the purposes of political witch-hunting, Nana Akufo-Addo has said.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer said such perceptions about the prosecution of some individuals in the country, are deliberate attempts by people to politicize the justice system in order to escape punishment for wrongdoing.
Speaking to Citi News’ Umaru Sanda, Nana Akufo-Addo said “the idea that there is witch-hunting because people are tried is unfortunate. It is yet another attempt to try and politicize situations that ought not to be. I think we all have to accept that the mere fact that someone is a minister or politician doesn’t put them above the law. Even the president is not above the law… and we have seen this all over the world.”
An Accra Fast Track High Court in 2008 sentenced Tsatsu Tsikata, a former CEO of the GNPC, to five years’ imprisonment for willfully causing financial loss to the State and misapplying public property, while Akufo-Addo was Attorney General under the erstwhile John Kufour administration.
Mr. Tsikata rejected an unconditional pardon by former President Kufuor, but got out of prison before the end of the 5-year term due to ill-health.
Earlier this week, the Court of Appeal, overturned that High Court judgment which sentenced the former GNPC boss to five years imprisonment. The judge said, “the judgment of the High Court was a miscarriage of justice, because it did not give Mr. Tsikata a fair opportunity to defend himself”.
Nana Akufo-Addo in the interview on Politicos said he was not embarrassed by the court’s decision. “How can I be embarrassed? That is what courts do. They may give a determination of who is innocent and who is guilty. Those in the judiciary cannot make that determination. All that one can do is to bring facts before the court to look at, and the court will look at whether the facts brought before them constitute an offence or not,” he said.
‘NPP government for unity’
Meanwhile, the NPP presidential candidate has said that an NPP government, if voted into office, will ensure unity and stability in the country. He also emphasized that an NPP-led government will steer the country to economic prosperity.
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