Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the former chairman of the collapsed Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), claims he is not concerned about facing charges from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
The OSP detained Professor Frimpong-Boateng last month so that he could respond to inquiries on alleged corruption and crimes related to corruption involving the operations and spending of the defunct IMCIM.
He argued that he had done nothing illegal to merit the Special Prosecutor’s intervention.
The former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation stated, “If I am prosecuted, I am not scared,” in an interview with JoyNews. How come I should be afraid? I don’t think there’s any chance I could be found guilty. But notice that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was tried and executed during this existence.
Professor Frimpong-Boateng said: “If evil people want to kill you, they know what to do to kill you. I wrote a bombshell study exposing suspected efforts by some people to sabotage government’s campaign against illicit mining (galamsey).
People in positions of authority who want to dump you will know how to accomplish it since it occurs. Therefore, we must take care to act solely in Ghana’s best interests in everything we do.
Frimpong-Boateng narrates encounter with OSP after his ‘arrest’
The former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in the interview narrated his experience with the Office of the Special Prosecutor following his arrest and subsequent bail.
Below are excerpts from the narration:
“The background is that I received a letter from the OSP on May 13 or 14 to appear before them. I was to report on May 16 at 10:00 a.m. I did. The letter said they were investigating corruption and corruption-related activities of the IMCIM, which disturbed me a bit. I thought they were going to stop illegal mining, but anyway, I went there and was ushered into a room. My lawyers were next to me, and the Principal Investigator and some officers from that office were opposite me.
“The Chief Investigator put his left hand on my shoulder and said, ‘You are under arrest.’ I asked, ‘Why am I under arrest? What are my charges?’ ‘Well, there are no specific charges. We are investigating corruption and corruption-related activities on the committee you chaired,’” he said in an interview with Joy News.
“When he asked if I was prepared to respond to some questions, I said I will try my best. It took a little over two hours, and I was quizzed extensively. After that, I was informed that I would need to post bail in order to be released. I received a self-recognizance bail offer. I was in the foyer when a friend came up to me and offered to bail me out. I was informed that I would be welcomed back to the office if the need arose. That is what took place. Naturally, some OSP officials also visited the residence where my friend was staying to ensure that, in the event that I eluded capture, he would be able to present me before the court.
“Since a prosecutor is looking into me, I don’t feel safe going over the questions they asked me. I did my best to respond to the broad-based question, which included a variety of subjects. That was it, then. They didn’t visit my home, he continued.
