The Managing Editor of the Newscenta newspaper, Elvis Darko, has criticised the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, over what he describes as unprofessional and prejudicial public commentary.
According to him, the Attorney General, who is expected to uphold the law, is making pronouncements that amount to convicting suspects even before a court ruling, contrary to the presumption of innocence guaranteed by Ghana’s constitution.
Speaking on Accra-based Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Monday, June 16, the veteran journalist questioned the need for the Attorney General’s regular press briefings on corruption-related cases.
“Ghanaian laws say you are innocent until proven guilty. Yet, the Attorney General, who knows this, has already convicted people by saying that it’s a criminal enterprise. I think if something is a criminal enterprise, it is a suspicion — and the Attorney General should be mindful of his words,” Mr Darko said.
“If you say it’s a suspicion, it means you are still investigating. But if you pronounce it as a criminal enterprise, it means you’ve already determined the fate of the people.”
He continued, “So I think the Attorney General is being carried away by public and party support. I believe an Attorney General should not be speaking the way he speaks. And that is why I’ve said these public press conferences by the Attorney General, if you ask me, are needless.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Ayine has defended the government’s regular updates under the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) initiative, saying the aim is to promote transparency, not to smear political opponents.
Speaking to the media in Accra on Friday, June 13, he insisted the briefings are part of democratic accountability and pointed to similar practices in the United States, where prosecutors regularly update the public on high-profile investigations.
