Abolishing OSP would undermine public demand for accountability - CDD-Ghana
The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development has said calls to abolish the Office of the Special Prosecutor are misplaced and run contrary to what Ghanaians expect from public institutions.
In a radio interview with Joy FM on Friday [December 5, 2025], Dr Kojo Pumpuni Asante, Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at CDD-Ghana, said the OSP only began full operations in 2024 because of delays and logistical hurdles.
He said the office struggled in its early years because it lacked the space and resources needed for effective work.
Dr Asante said the first Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu, worked from what he described as “a townhouse building in Labone” for almost three years before the current office building was secured and refurbished.
He said the OSP received its first proper budget in 2022 and spent most of 2023 preparing its operations. “So in reality, personally, the OSP began to do serious work in 2024,” he said.
He said claims that the OSP had eight years to deliver results did not reflect the institution’s slow start.
“When people make these accusations that in eight years what do we have to show for it, it is a new office. There are many frontline offices that have been there for years. Nobody is crying out that we should scrap them because we have not tackled corruption,” he stated.
Dr Asante said both the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress had, at different times, tried to weaken the OSP. “For some reason, since this office was established, both parties have tried to find a way to undermine it. And I do not understand why,” he said.
He said any plan by the NDC administration to abolish the OSP would go against what Ghanaians expect from government.
“This is what the people voted for. They want accountability. They want independence for frontline agencies to tackle corruption. If the NDC is going to make this an agenda, then they would have betrayed Ghanaians. I will be the first person, even if it is a one man demonstration, that I will have to organise,” he said.
Responding to recent petitions seeking the removal of the current Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng, Dr Asante said the same standards had not been applied to other institutions.
“How many petitions have we sent to EOCO or to CID? There are so many cases that for many years nothing was done about. Nobody sent any petitions around that,” he said.
He said the OSP was not flawless and should be assessed by a high standard, but this should not form the basis for calls to scrap the office.
“Nobody can say the OSP is not fallible or that his approach is in everybody’s cup of tea. But that cannot be grounds for saying they have not delivered anything and therefore we should get rid of them,” he said.
Dr Asante said civil society organisations had been engaging the judiciary to improve understanding of the OSP Act. He said courts sometimes applied different standards to the office compared to other investigative bodies.
“The things that the courts throw out, they do not do that with EOCO on the same set of facts. So we are working with the judiciary to understand the OSP Act so that issues they believe the OSP does not have powers over are understood better,” he explained.
He said the OSP had stronger transparency duties than other bodies since it must publish reports every six months, a requirement that does not apply to the Attorney General or EOCO.
Reacting to the recent arrest of legal practitioner Mr Martin Kpebu over comments relating to the OSP, Dr Asante said he was concerned. “I think it is criminalising speech in any way. The way this has been done is a no-no. It is a slippery slope that we have to avoid,” he said.
He urged the public to resist attempts to abolish the Special Prosecutor’s office. “People do not like the idea of an independent public prosecutor. That we have to defend,” he said.
