New Update: Charles Bissue arrested after reporting to the OSP

Charles Bissue, the former secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), has been detained by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The OSP stated in a statement made on June 21, 2023 that Charles Bissue was apprehended after turning himself in.

“At 11:45 GMT on 21 June 2023, the Secretary to the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Cromwell Nanabayin Onuawonto Bissue turned himself in to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

“He was immediately placed under arrest, interviewed and subsequently released on bail,” parts of the statement read.

Bissue was arrested after obtaining an interim injunction against an arrest by the Special Prosecutor’s Office.

According to Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, a lawyer for Charles Bissue, the Human Rights Court 2 in Accra, headed over by Justice Nicholas MC Abodakpi, ordered the injunction, which also prevents the OSP from serving wanted notice on his client.

According to Lawyer Baffuor, who revealed this, the injunction was imposed following trials on Thursday, June 15, 2023, and would continue for 10 days.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor had already named Charles Bissue, the former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), wanted.

On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, the OSP issued a notice on social media stating that Charles Bissue is sought for concerns relating to his work on the defunct IMCIM.

The ad, labelled “Wanted by the OSP,” includes a photograph of Charles Bissue as well as his full name, Charles Cromwell Nanabayin Onuawonto Bissue.

He was sought for the following accused offences: “corruption-related offences regarding the activities and expenditure of the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), especially in respect of the seizure and management of excavators, machinery, road vehicles, and gold nuggets; and use of public office for profit”