Selective justice has undermined Ghana’s anti-corruption fight – Prof Prempeh

Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has warned that selective justice has severely weakened public confidence in Ghana’s anti-corruption framework and eroded the credibility of key state institutions.

Prof. Prempeh questioned why Ghana’s repeated attempts at fighting corruption have failed to produce consistent results. He argued that if the current system were effective, its impact would already be evident.

According to him, Ghana has experimented with various models, including career Attorneys-General, yet the present arrangement remains fundamentally flawed because the Attorney General is a political appointee.

“Our current Attorney General setup is not a career system. It is a politician–Attorney General model,” he noted, stressing that constitutions are designed for real human behavior, not ideal assumptions.

Prof. Prempeh pointed out that the political nature of the office creates an inherent conflict, especially when the Attorney General is an active politician and Member of Parliament. In such circumstances, he said, it becomes unrealistic to expect impartial prosecution of corruption cases.

He argued that corruption has no political identity, yet prosecutions rarely affect those in power. This, he said, explains why Ghanaians remain skeptical of anti-corruption efforts, often viewing cases through partisan lenses rather than evidence.

According to Prof. Prempeh, the damage goes beyond legal outcomes to public perception. He warned that once citizens lose trust in the fairness of the process, no explanation can restore confidence.

He further cautioned that cycles of selective prosecutions and political pardons only deepen mistrust and weaken institutions over time.

Prof. Prempeh urged Ghana to confront the uncomfortable reality that the current system is not working and consider alternative models. He cited countries such as Kenya, where the Attorney General has no prosecutorial role, arguing that Ghana’s own experience points to the need for structural reform.

Ultimately, he stressed that meaningful reforms must reflect Ghana’s unique political and institutional realities, rather than relying on systems that have repeatedly failed to deliver justice fairly.