Charles Bissue Arrested By Special Prosecutor After Turning Himself In But Released On Bail

• Charles Bissue was arrested by the Special Prosecutor on Wednesday after turning himself in but was later released on bail
• The former presidential staffer was declared wanted for failing to honour several invitations by the Special Prosecutor
• He is a person of interest in corruption and corruption-related activities linked to illegal mining in Ghana

Embattled former secretary of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (ICIM), Charles Bissue was arrested by the Special Prosecutor on Wednesday morning.

The former presidential staffer was declared wanted by the Special Prosecutor after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The prosecutor obtained the warrant on grounds that the former political appointee had declined several invitations to the Office of the Special Prosecutor to assist with investigations into corruption allegations.

Subsequently, Bissue obtained an order from the high court compelling the prosecutor to set aside the arrest warrant against him. The Special Prosecutor then issued a statement announcing that per the law he can arrest without a warrant.

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However, on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, released a statement announcing that Charles Bissue turned himself in at 11:45 am and was arrested.

The former secretary of the ICIM was later released on bail, the statement said.

Charles Bissue's tussle with the Special Prosecutor emanates partly from a Tiger Eye investigative report.

The undercover documentary claims to have captured the former presidential staffer receiving a bribe from an undercover reporter.

Special Prosecutor investigates Charles Bissue over galamsey

YEN.com.gh reported in a previous story that the Office of the Special Prosecutor launched fresh investigations into galamsey corruption against Charles Bissue, Chairman Wontumi and other key state institutions in October last year.

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Also, officials of the Lands Commission, the Lands Ministry and the Forestry Commission are also part of the investigation.

The investigation followed agitations by CSOs and a section of the public for the government to take decisive action against the illegal mining menace.

Akufo-Addo's promise to end galamsey described as "figure of speech"

In April this year, Charles Bissue grabbed headlines when he declared, to the surprise of many, that Nana Akufo-Addo's famous quote about putting his presidency on the line to fight illegal mining, aka galamsey, was a mere figure of speech.

Charles Bissue stated that the president did not mean it literally when he said "I am prepared to put my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey".

He told current affairs programme PM Express which aired on April 25, 2023, that the promise by the president was misconstrued.

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Source: YEN.com.gh