A governance expert John Osae-Kwapong has questioned the future of Ghana’s anti-corruption architecture following a High Court ruling that stripped the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) of its ability to independently prosecute cases.
Kwapong, Director of Quality Assurance and Institutional Effectiveness at Ashesi University and a fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), said the legal dispute over the OSP should prompt a broader national reflection on how corruption is tackled.
Unanswered questions
Speaking on Asaase Radio’s current affairs programme The Forum, on Saturday (18 April), Osae-Kwapong said the constitutional issues surrounding the OSP must be resolved, but argued that deeper governance questions remain unanswered.
“For me there is a broader question of what is truly our struggle with the office of the special prosecutor,” he said.
“We often argue that the reason the special prosecutor was needed is because we don’t believe that the Attorney General will engage in regime accountability… therefore that became one of the strong arguments as to why we need the OSP,” he said.
Institutional trust
Osae-Kwapong said the current debate goes beyond legality and raises questions about institutional trust.
He added that Ghana must confront whether it still has confidence in the Attorney-General’s office to pursue corruption cases involving political actors without fear or favour.
“Even after the constitutional question is settled… if we are starting to have doubts about whether we need an OSP or not, then what is the answer?” he asked.
“Are we saying that the concerns we have regularly expressed about the fact that the AG may lack true independence… is now gone and now we have faith and confidence in the office of the Attorney General?” he said.
Background
An Accra High Court on 15 April upheld that the OSP does not have constitutional authority to independently prosecute criminal cases without authorisation from the Attorney-General, a decision that has reignited debate over the structure of Ghana’s anti-corruption framework.
The court ruled that under Article 88 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, prosecutorial authority rests exclusively with the Attorney-General unless formally delegated. It further ordered that all ongoing cases handled by the OSP be transferred to the Attorney-General’s Department, creating uncertainty over several corruption-related prosecutions now effectively on hold.
The decision followed a suit filed by private citizen Peter Achibold Hyde, who challenged the legal basis for the OSP’s independent prosecutorial mandate.
Separately, the matter is also before the Supreme Court in a constitutional case filed by Noah Ephraem Tetteh Adamtey, who is contesting the validity of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959). He argues that Parliament exceeded its constitutional authority by granting the OSP independent prosecutorial powers, contrary to Articles 88(3) and 88(4) of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court has already determined that the Attorney-General is the proper defendant in the case, as Parliament enacted the law establishing the OSP.
Legal analysts say the outcome of the Supreme Court proceedings will be decisive in defining the future of the OSP, including whether it retains independent prosecutorial authority or operates under the supervision of the Attorney-General. Until then, uncertainty persists over the operational scope of Ghana’s anti-corruption prosecutions.
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