A former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Cromwell Nanabanyin Onuawonto Bissue, has denied allegations of misconduct in the lawsuit filed against him by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
The OSP has filed criminal charges against Mr Bissue and one other, Andy Thomas Owusu.
According to the charge sheet filed at the Accra High Court on April 28 and sighted by ModernGhana News, Mr Bissue is accused of “using public office for profit” and “corruption by a public officer” under Sections 179C and 239 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), as amended.
The fifteen charges—nine against Mr Bissue and six against Mr Owusu—relate to allegations that the former, who also served as the Western Regional Secretary of the NPP, received cash payments to fast-track the renewal of mining licenses without proper documentation.
The OSP stated that on or around January 22, 2019, Mr Bissue, “while holding public office as the Secretary of the then Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), corruptly abused [his] office for private profit or benefit by receiving for [himself] an amount of fifteen thousand cedis (GHS15,000.00)” from Benjamin Adjapong through Andy Thomas Owusu.
It further claimed that on or around January 30, 2019, Mr Bissue again received “an amount of ten thousand cedis (GHS10,000.00)” for the same purpose of unlawfully facilitating a fast-tracked renewal of an expired mining licence for ORR Resources Enterprise without valid documentation.
However, reacting to the charges in a statement dated April 29, Mr Bissue noted that he had always acted in full compliance with both the legal and ethical obligations of the office and that any allegations to the contrary were baseless.
“For the record, I categorically assert that I have always acted in full compliance with both the legal and ethical obligations of the office I held and the laws of the Republic of Ghana.
“Any suggestion of misconduct is baseless and will be vigorously challenged through due process. I welcome the OSP’s decision to proceed with this case after more than five years of deliberation,” the statement read in part.
To ensure transparency and fairness, he urged the OSP to submit to the court a complete, unedited, and unaltered version of the video documentary referenced in the proceedings.
“Ghanaians deserve access to the unvarnished truth and factual evidence, free from distortion or misdirection by external narratives or selective interpretations,” he noted.
