Abolishing OSP, what a shame
The first shots in the OSP-Attorney-General legal tussle have been fired.
In Accra this week, proceedings in the high-profile trial of former Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, have been halted after his legal team challenged the authority of the Office of the Special Prosecutor to prosecute the case.
When the case was called on April 21, Akbar Khomeini, Counsel for Dr Abdul-Hamid, raised objections to the standing of the prosecutor, citing a decision by another High Court which declared the OSP’s authority to prosecute as void in the absence of prior authorisation.
The High Court adjourned the matter to May 26, 2026.
OSP’s prosecutors have accused Mustapha Hamid and two officials of the National Petroleum Authority of orchestrating a scheme to extort more than GH¢291 million and $323,407.47 from oil marketing companies and bulk oil transporters between 2022 and December 2024.
If this objection by Hamid’s lawyers succeeds, what is likely to follow is all cases handled by OSP.
Totally illiterate in matters of law, I can only turn to Ghanaians and urge all 30 million of us to advise ourselves in the matter.
Are we saying that none of our 11,000 lawyers in Ghana, including those teaching at the Law faculties and Makola/GIMPA, did not know about these clauses in the 1992 Constitution and the Act of Parliament? I had never read the constitution as it relates to the establishment of the OSP.
However, a two weeks ago when the High Court stripped the OSP of its power, I picked my copy of the Constitution and read it. It is so clearly stated that it doesn’t take a lawyer to understand:
― Article 88(3): “The Attorney-General shall be responsible for the initiation and conduct of all prosecutions of criminal offences.”
― Article 88(4): “All offences prosecuted in the name of the Republic of Ghana shall be at the suit of the Attorney-General or any other person authorised by him in accordance with any law.”
The Constitution vests prosecutorial authority exclusively in the Attorney-General.
― Act 959 (the OSP law) gives the Special Prosecutor independent prosecutorial powers, which some argue conflicts with Article 88.
The High Court effectively ruled that the OSP’s prosecutorial mandate effectively takes away powers reserved for the AG by the Constitution, unless the AG explicitly authorises it.
Duplicates
Mahama Ayariga and Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who are pushing to revoke the Office of the Special Prosecutor, believe that it duplicates the Attorney-General’s mandate, conflicts with Ghana’s Constitution, and consumes resources without delivering significant results.
Highlighting jurisdictional overlap between the OSP and the Attorney-General’s office, they argue that corruption cases could be more effectively prosecuted if the Attorney-General’s office were strengthened instead.
In the United States, the land of democracy, a “special prosecutor” (or special counsel) is an independent lawyer appointed to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute cases where the Department of Justice (DOJ) has a conflict of interest—most often involving high-level government officials.
According to Google, the OSP in the US is appointed by the Attorney General and has full investigative and prosecutorial powers, but, it also says, the OSP “can be removed by the Attorney General for misconduct or other good cause.”
Bottom line: In Ghana, unless otherwise determined by the Supreme, therefore, the OSP thus far, and from now on, is a staff of the Attorney General.
What happens to cases already handled by the OSP? Like Mustapha Hamid’s lawyer, can other accused persons prosecuted by the OSP also run for refuge to the Supreme Court and swear that they have been illegally prosecuted by an entity that had no legal leg to stand on?
Didn’t we anticipate these legalities at the time we were hailing Martin Amidu on his appointment?
Didn’t we fully back him when he conducted corruption risk assessments in November 2020 in the Agyapa Royalties Transaction?
Amidu found that the transaction was suspiciously conceived by the Finance Minister (Ken Ofori-Atta) and the Presidency to serve a few individuals. Remember the “Mother Serpent” description of Akufo Addo. That’s an OSP!
Abolishing
Supporters have argued that abolishing the OSP or placing the Office under the Attorney General could (will) weaken Ghana’s anti-corruption framework and reduce public confidence in accountability efforts.
Bottom line, as matters stand now, it looks like the war on Galamsey; Ghana has lost the war on corruption.
I ask myself one question: Will the Attorney General dare to prosecute Mahama appointees?
Can the OSP, taking instructions from the AG, investigate and prosecute if its application for prosecutorial powers from the AG is either turned down or frustrated?
But there is way. People wishing to fight corruption say it should not be impossible to amend the constitution to give full and unfettered powers to the OSP to prosecute corruption, especially corruption by government appointees.
To do that, we must remove elements in Article 88(3) and Article 88(4) which seem to conflict with Act 959 (the OSP law).
The writer is the Executive Director, Centre for Communication and Culture.
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