A video of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vetting for the portfolio of Attorney General-designate in 2001 has resurfaced on social media.
The video shows a much younger Akufo-Addo answering questions from vetting committee members when then-President John Agyekum Kufuor appointed him.
The process required that he [Akufo-Addo] faced parliament’s vetting committee.
The video captures some of the issues that Akufo-Addo addressed during his vetting, such as his views on the death penalty, the role of the Attorney General, the independence of the judiciary, and the prosecution of corruption cases.
One aspect of the video captured Akufo-Addo’s response to questions regarding the need for impartial mechanisms in handling legal matters, particularly those involving prosecution and restitution.
Stating his preference for strengthening existing institutions like the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Akufo-Addo emphasised the importance of orderly and organised developments within the country’s legal framework.
“Well, I believe that what the Minority Leader was putting on the table, which I believe is something reflective of the majority of Ghanaians, is that let us have a mechanism where you are working not with discretion. My objective in the way that the Attorney General was handling this matter was that there was a slightly discretionary element: he chose which person or people to deal with. But let us have a mechanism so that we can deal with these matters in a reasonably objective and impartial way. The only way that you could do it is to establish some sort of portal that will deal with it.
“I am not sure in my own mind that this is a matter that we have to take a decision, whether there is, in fact, any need for any particular body. There are institutions in place like the CHRAJ which can, in fact, perform these functions for those who believe that they are entitled to some form of restitution or compensation for what is happening.
“… My preference, frankly, which is going to be the attitude which dominates my tenure of office, is that wherever there are already existing institutions that can deal with the problems that you come on by, let those institutions be strengthened for them to deal with it so that we can have some development of the institutions in our country in an orderly and organised way,” he stated.
