Martin Amidu

Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu is a Ghanaian politician. He was the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice from January 2011 till January 2012. He is the man, who introduced the word ‘gargantuan‘, into the lexicon of Ghanaian politics, when he opened the can of worms about the Woyome scandal which was set to be the worst financial scandal in Ghana’s fiscal history at the time. On 11 January 2018, Martin A.B.K Amidu was named by the President of Ghana as the Special Prosecutor for the newly created Office of the Special Prosecutor

Hon. Martin A. B. K. Amidu
Attorney General and Minister for Justice
In office Jan 2011 – Jan 2012
President	John Atta Mills
Preceded by	Betty Mould-Iddrisu
Minister for Interior
In office Jan 2010 – Jan 2011
President	John Atta Mills
Preceded by	Cletus Avoka
Succeeded by	Benjamin Kunbuor
Special Prosecutor
In office Jan 2018 – Present
Personal details
Nationality	Ghanaian
Political party	National Democratic Congress
Website	www.martinamidu.com

Deputy Attorney-General

Amidu served as the Deputy Attorney-General for about the last four years of the Provisional National Defence Council military government. Amidu is a member of the National Democratic Congress(NDC) After civilian rule was established in the Fourth Republic in January 1993, he continued to serve in the government of Jerry Rawlings as Deputy Attorney-General. This he did for both terms lasting eight years until January 2001.[1]

December 2000 presidential election

In the December 2000 presidential elections, he stood as the running mate of John Atta Mills. They both however lost to President John Kufuor that year.

Mills government

Minister for Interior

In January 2010, following a cabinet reshuffle, President Mills replaced Cletus Avoka with Amidu as the Minister for Interior.[2][3] As Amidu is a Builsa, some people raised questions as to his neutrality in dealing with the Bawku conflict.[4] He however went successfully through vetting by the Parliament of Ghana and assumed his post.

Attorney general

Following the second major cabinet reshuffle by President Mills, Amidu became the Attorney general and Minister for Justice of Ghana.[5]

Removal from Office

Martin Amidu was relieved of his post on Thursday January 19, 2012 by President John Evans Atta Mills under circumstances described by aids as 'his misconduct' at a meeting chaired by the president at the Osu Castle on January 18, 2012. He made allegations related to alleged financial impropriety on the part of another cabinet minister, allegations he was asked by the president to substantiate. Martin Amidu, the former Attorney General, single-handedly challenged the legality of the payments after being relieved off his post at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money as Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney-General clearance to execute the court’s judgment, ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state. Following the delays in retrieving the money, Mr. Amidu in 2016, filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to examine Alfred Woyome, on how he would pay back the money, after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application. In February 2017 however, Mr. Amidu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government under the New Patriotic Party under His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo Addo and his Attorney General, Miss Gloria Akuffo’s assurance to retrieve all judgment debts wrongfully paid to individuals Mr. Woyome in response prayed the Supreme Court to stay proceedings on the oral examination since he had filed for a review on the case. His lawyer, Ken Anku, argued that, his client will face an irreparable damage if the oral examination is allowed to take place but the deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame, opposed the application, describing the reasons as incompetent and unmeritorious according to citifmonline.

Akufo-Addo government

Special prosecutor

He is Ghana's first Special prosecutor nominated for parliament's approval. The nomination was announced by the President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo on January 11, 2018.[6] Martin A.B.K. Amidu was sworn into office on Friday, February 23, 2018 by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Flagstaff House.

Amidu at the swearing in ceremony thanked the Attorney General and the President for appointing him, and promised to fight corruption in the country without fear or favour.[7]

See also

• List of Mills government ministers

References

1. "Martin Amidu responds to Frank Benneh's allegations". MyJoyOnline. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
2. "President Mills reshuffles Ministers". General News. Ghana Home Page. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
3. "Reshuffle Blues: Sena Dansua Heads Sports Ministry". General News. Ghana Home Page. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
4. Daily Guide (27 January 2010). "Martin Amidu Is Bad For Bawku Peace". ModernGhana.com. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
5. "Cabinet reshuffle: Zita dropped, Betty for education". Ghana Home Page. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
6. "Nana Addo names Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor - Ghana News". Ghana News. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
7. "Amidu's Acceptance Speech". 24 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2019.

External links and sources

• List of ministers on Ghana government website

Party political offices
Preceded by John Atta Mills	National Democratic Congress Vice presidential candidate 2000	Succeeded by Muhammad Mumuni
Political offices
Preceded by Cletus Avoka	Minister for Interior 2010 – 2011	Succeeded by Benjamin Kunbuor
Preceded by Betty Mould-Iddrisu	Attorney General and Minister for Justice 2011 – 2012	Succeeded by Benjamin Kunbuor