Investigative journalist and author, Manasseh Azure Awuni, says he owes President John Dramani Mahama no apology for labeling him “chief clearing agent”.
Earlier this week, the journalist, posted an article on his social media handles in which he accused the President of shielding officials of his first government accused of corruption.
He described President Mahama as “chief clearing agent” for the mass discontinuation of court cases against the former officials.
Reactions
The statement received strong reactions from NDC supporters who felt that the journalist went overboard, and therefore asked him to retract and apologize.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, at a news conference in Accra on Wednesday, February 12, said, “I am not under any instructions or pressure to discontinue any case or to bring charges against one. Those who are in a haste to tag the President as a clearing agent should hasten slowly because he is not responsible for prosecutions and has not directed me to drop any case.”
Manasseh disagrees
But, Manasseh disagrees with his critics. In another social media piece on Thursday, February 13, he said, “Some NDC foot soldiers have called me to apologise to President Mahama over the ‘chief clearing agent’ tag. I stand by the context in which I used the tag, and I owe the President no apology.“
Explaining, he said, it will be difficult to accept the explanation that the Attorney General acted alone and proceeded to discontinue the high-profile cases without consulting and getting the green light from President Mahama, who appointed him.
“When candidate Mahama called President Akufo-Addo a clearing agent, President Akufo-Addo insisted that he did not clear the appointees and that they had been investigated and cleared by state institutions. We didn’t buy that from President Akufo-Addo and cannot be forced to buy that from President Mahama. The buck stops with the President, so Mahama cannot take credit for the ultimate good in his administration and run away from the bad.”
He insisted that the mass discontinuation will hamper President Mahama’ s own anti-corruption effort because if the next administration comes and clears unresolved cases, Ghanaians will be used to a bad precedent.
No hatred for Mahama
According to Manasseh, his article has also ignited accusations from NDC foot soldiers that he hates President Mahama.
However, he stated: “President Mahama and those close to him know we are friends. I don’t take that for granted, let alone hate him. I cannot hate him. I’m just doing my work. And he appreciates me. Journalists are supposed to hold the government accountable, and if you do your work well, you’re not supposed to be the darling of the government.”
