‘Galamsey’ report: We go to court with evidence not conjectures – Deputy AG
Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, the deputy attorney general, has requested that Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the former minister of the environment, science, technology, and innovation, provide proof to support the allegations in his report on illicit mining. In his study on galamsey, Professor Frimpong-Boateng charged several prominent members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with participating in galamsey….
Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, the deputy attorney general, has requested that Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the former minister of the environment, science, technology, and innovation, provide proof to support the allegations in his report on illicit mining.
In his study on galamsey, Professor Frimpong-Boateng charged several prominent members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with participating in galamsey.
In a September 12, 2023, advisory to the Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the Attorney General stated that the previous chairman had not supplied the required proof to support his report for the prosecution of those charged.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng responded to the Attorney General by stating that it will become clear in the future that those who are accused of destroying the water bodies have done so.
But in response, Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General, said the writer had not presented enough evidence to support a prosecution.
In an interview with Citi News, Mr. Tuah-Yeboah offered assistance, stating that the office is willing to accept the required proof.
“Advice has been offered, an opinion has been offered. Anyone who thinks that he has evidence that will also support us to review our opinion, why not? But we will not in any way take a matter to court, where we will be seriously bruised and embarrassed. As prosecutors, you go to court with hard evidence, not with speculations.”
“So you can say Mr. A has stolen. That is the allegation. What has he stolen? Then you come with evidence. Mr. A is engaged in galamsey. That is the allegation. What is the evidence? It’s possible that you may go to a forest and realise that people have engaged in illegal mining, but you may mention my name as the one who did it; that is not enough. You should be able to get evidence to show that yes I was there and I was the one who engaged people to do that. We do this work based on evidence, not on conjectures,” he explained.
