Outspoken lawyer, Martin Kpebu, has told a story of how he lost his job following his decision to drag the Akufo-Addo-led government to court over mining bauxite in famous Atiwa Forest in the Eastern Region.
According to the private legal practitioner, he was relieved of his job because he opted to lead some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with interest in Ghana’s natural resources to the law court to stop the Akufo-Addo government from dissipating the forest.
He also revealed how consistently, he loses job opportunities because he is critical of government, leading to him being tagged as a sympathizer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) which he has disclosed many times he has never voted for the party’s flagbearer John Dramani Mahama.
“I sit here, there are many government jobs people recommend me but as soon as they see my name, they say this guy is NDC I am taken off. That is the prize I am facing yet I keep coming when I have never voted for Mahama yet I have lost jobs because I am perceived as NDC”, he said.
Speaking about the incident the first time recently on live television, Mr Kpebu said this is a price he had to pay for being vocal and speaking against bad governance and opposing and ills in system and society as a whole.
Providing insight to the issue, the lawyer said when the government declared it plans to mine in the forest, he was consulted by the CSOs led by A Rocha Ghana to help them stop the administration to go ahead with its intention. As a social commentator, he accepted to lead the CSOs to the law court.
Unknown to him, the company he was working with name withheld didn’t like the idea of his employee battling it out with the government of the day so they prevailed upon to rescind his decision to thwart government plans.
He said one day when he went to work, he was called by his superiors who told him to drop the case which he insisted he was not going to do. He said immediately he said that, he was told in the face that he is not fit to work there again and so he lost his.
After he was forced out of that job, he fell on his law practice of going to court to make ends meet.
Mr Kpebu said this on TV3’s Keypionts programme on Saturday 7 September, to reveal some of the occasional hazards of being in the public space and challenging decisions of government and the powers that be.
“I sit here, there are many government jobs people recommend me but as soon as they see my name, they say this guy is NDC I am taken off. That is the prize I am facing yet I keep coming when I have never voted for Mahama yet I have lost jobs because I am perceived as NDC.
Where I used to work some years ago you see this same galamsey, illegal mining etcetera issue but that one government wanted to do bauxite in the Atiwa Forest then A Rocha and a lot of the NGOs came to consult me long story short we sued in court. The people I was with they were not comfortable they said ah Martin how can you fight government? No no we don’t like such a thing. You go to work in the morning you don’t know you are called in, why are you suing government on Atiwa Forest? Next thing will you drop this case? I said no within few minutes I have lost my job. There is no seat for you here then, that I have lost my job with the Atiwa writ under my armpit so we are all sacrificing”.
Even though this is not new in the political space, Mr Kpebu cited his example to buttress his point that a lot of the times, the collective interest must overrides personal parochial interests.
Speaking in the specific case of the police administration’s failure to arrest and prosecute New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako whose firm Akonta Mining was accused by no mean a person than the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor, he did not understand why the IGP and CID boss have failed to act two clear years.
Speaking passionately about the issue, Mr Kpebu said it was mindboggling that two years after the Minister’s accusation and a petition by him and three others including Ken Ashigbey and Edem Senanu to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the police service, the security agency has not brought finality to the matter, leaving the case hanging.
He accused the Inspector General of Police (IGP) George Akuffo Dampare and the Director-General of the CID Faustina Andoh Kwafie, of shielding the politician popularly known as chairman Wontumi, to keep their positions as top police chiefs.
He said this is a clear case of scratch my back let me scratch your back while the likes of him are losing their well paying jobs for acting in the best interest of the country.
Peeved Kpebu said all the officers are seeking to do is to protect their jobs and benefits. He said this is unaccepted charging them to do what the taxpayer’s money is used for and get to work to prosecute the NPP chairman or it will be an anatross on the necks of the officers.
He decried how the plan to mine in the Atiwa Forest was going to hurt not only Ghana but the world which has it eyes and ears on the natural resource.
“Something that Leonardo DCaprio, you remember Titanic that film? Activists from all over the world have called Akufo-Addo to stop, he refused. So we went to court how many years now 6 years.
So the point I am making is that we are all scarifying but you don’t want to lose anything and enjoy everything you like to sit at the comfort of your office and enjoy everything so the IG and Madam Andoh Kwofie, you thought you were dodging this Akonta Mining case but we are back where we started from. You have to let this case go to court otherwise that is a bloat on your records that you just came to office to help politicians that is what you are doing”.