Dr. Dominic Ayine-The Misunderstood Hero
Dear Nyaaba,
I received a call last night. From my nephew. My nephew is just a few months younger than I and so he and I are perennially at each other’s throats, me claiming my authority, and he protesting it with a vengeance.
My nephew also has the additional ability to surprise me, with bursts of deep philosophical enquiry, and it was on such a quest that he gave me what I consider a very rare call.
Nyaaba, the matter that was the subject of his confusion, or that he needed clarification on, was the Nolle Prosequi saga, that matter of the Attorney General filing to stop the prosecution of certain citizens who also are politicians, politicians on the side of the National Democratic Congress, the party in office.
Before I continue, it is necessary that I put on record that I do not pretend to be coming to the “rescue” of the AG, no. There are hundreds of qualified friends and associates of Dr. Ayine who have the tools and gravitas to do so. What I seek to contribute is my humble understanding and interpretation of the developments.
Nolle Prosequi is a Latin legal term meaning “will no longer prosecute.” It is a formal declaration by a prosecutor in a criminal case that they are discontinuing the prosecution, either in whole or in part.
In Ghana and other common law jurisdictions, the Attorney-General has the power to enter a Nolle Prosequi at any stage of criminal proceedings before judgment. This effectively halts the case, and the accused is discharged, though the prosecution may revive the case later unless the accused was acquitted.
A Nolle Prosequi may be entered for various reasons, such as:
- Insufficient evidence to secure a conviction
- Public interest considerations
- A desire to use the accused as a witness in another case
- Legal or procedural issues affecting the trial
It is not an acquittal but rather a discontinuance of prosecution at that time.
Nyaaba,
I am now inviting you to take off your politically partisan lenses and hear me out:
1-It’s a non-negotiable tenet of the Rule of Law that all accused persons are innocent until proven guilty
2-All criminal cases are prosecuted by the state through the Attorney-General and his staff, with some support from some trained police prosecutors.
3-The AG is the ‘government lawyer’ and so is expected to advice the Executive and where necessary, to represent them.
4-The citizen, when accused, has the option of getting their personal legal representation at their personal cost or where they cannot afford, are entitled to a representation by a counsel appointed by the state.(not guaranteed though)
5-It is safe to say therefore, that the AG is viewed as the adversary to a citizen who is alleged to have committed a crime, and a defender of the state at large.
6-For the avoidance of doubt therefore, Dr. Ayine should ordinarily not be interested in the individual citizen, his predominant focus being the representation of the state and its cases.
7-His recent actions however point in a different direction; in my opinion, he has intervened on behalf of citizens who were accused of crimes that the state was unable to establish, yet were being “judicially harassed”. The Nolle Prosequi was therefore to reinstate their rights to being deemed, considered and treated as innocent. That the prosecutions have been stopped DOES NOT AMOUNT TO ACQUITTALS.
8-In sum Dr. Ayine should be seen as the hero of the citizen, making sure that no one is held to ransom by spurious allegations peddled by ill-meaning characters, with the connivance of certain state functionaries, and willing to zealously guarantee their rights. To see him otherwise will be fruit of a jaundiced analysis.
Nyaaba, this is what I told my nephew, I hope I was not off the mark.
Respectfully yours,
Kasise Ricky Peprah
(The Siriguboy)`
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