Law on unexplained wealth: Lawyer calls for implementation
Recounting the successes of the law, Martin Kpebu mentioned that after the Nkrumah era, public officials were made accountable and restricted from engaging in corrupt dealings.
A private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu has called for the implementation of Article 286(4) of the 1992 Constitution which deals with unexplained wealth. The article states;
“Any property or assets acquired by a public officer after the initial declaration required by clause (1) of this article and which is not reasonably attributable to income, gift, loan, inheritance, or any other reasonable source shall be deemed to have been acquired in contravention of this Constitution.”
According to him, such a move provides an effective means to check corruption unlike the current anti-graft laws of the country.
Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews on April 2, 2022, the legal practitioner made a suggestion for public officials to be made to appear before CHRAJ automatically and explain their wealth at the time of leaving office.
Recounting the successes of the law, Martin Kpebu mentioned that after the Nkrumah era, public officials were made accountable and restricted from corrupt dealings due to the implementation of the law on unexplained wealth.
Further to the above, he established the people’s optimism in such a practice by recounting how people allegedly pushed evidence under doors to the Jiagge Commission, reporting corrupt dealings and activities of ministers relative to wealth unexplained and unaccounted for, which enhanced the work of the Commission.
Commenting on the way forward, Martin Kpebu called for a system by the government that will make the citizens bold and fearless in revealing information on corrupt officials to regulatory bodies for subsequent investigation.
He noted that this will take away fear from the people as reported by the CDD, and ensure an effective fight against corruption.
