Former Attorney-General and lead counsel for the former Chief Justice, Nii Ayikoi Otoo, has dismissed claims by former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo that a key letter tendered as evidence during the Chief Justice’s inquiry was fake.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (8 October), Ayikoi Otoo described the claim as “shocking” and “disheartening,” especially coming from someone who once headed Ghana’s audit service.
“It’s rather shocking and disconcerting to hear such a thing coming from a respected former Auditor-General. The letter was signed by the Judicial Secretary, who as a spending officer, had the authority to set out the entitlements of the Chief Justice after her appointment,” he said.
Mr. Otoo explained that in the public service, the President’s warrant of appointment only confirms an individual’s role, while details of their conditions of service — such as travel entitlements and allowances — are communicated later by the appropriate spending officer.
“The warrant simply appoints you. It doesn’t detail whether you fly business class or what clothing allowance you receive. That information comes from the spending officer, in this case, the Judicial Secretary,” he said.
According to the former Attorney-General, the audit query raised over the Chief Justice’s foreign travels was resolved after the Judicial Secretary explained that the expenditure was within policy, leading auditors to drop the issue from their final management letter.
“Once the spending officer’s explanation was accepted and the matter didn’t appear in the management letter, it should have ended there. But Domelevo still went ahead to accuse the Chief Justice of financial breaches,” Mr. Otoo stated.
He argued that the committee which investigated the former Chief Justice ignored “crucial evidence” presented by her legal team and suggested the proceedings were politically influenced.
Mr. Otoo also cited his own experiences as Attorney-General and as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Canada to illustrate that such letters, setting out conditions of service, are standard practice and not fraudulent.
“When I was appointed Attorney-General, the Secretary to the President wrote to me about my entitlements — not the President himself. The same applied when I was made High Commissioner. So for Domelevo to call the Judicial Secretary’s letter fake shows a misunderstanding of public service procedure,” he said.
He further accused some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of attempting to “vilify” the former Chief Justice and force her out of office, despite the absence of credible grounds for her removal.
Mr. Otoo revealed that his team has still not received the full report or recommendations from the inquiry and said the refusal to release it undermines transparency.
“We have never sighted the report. In a country that believes in the rule of law, that should never happen,” he added.
The former Attorney-General maintained that the letter in question remains an official and authentic document and insisted there was no need for his team to seek further authentication.
Source: asaaseradio.com
