The High Court (General Jurisdiction 10), presided over by Justice Eugene John Nyante Nyadu, has declined an application by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) seeking a stay of execution on a ruling that currently restricts aspects of its prosecutorial authority.
The decision means the earlier High Court ruling—which places a temporary halt on certain prosecutions initiated by the OSP pending further judicial clarification—remains in effect.
The OSP had sought to suspend the impact of the decision while it pursued an appeal, but the court rejected the request.
Following the ruling, the Office of the Special Prosecutor indicated it would escalate the matter to the Court of Appeal in a renewed attempt to obtain a stay of execution.
“We will immediately repeat the application for stay of execution at the Court of Appeal,” the OSP stated.
The office has already filed a formal notice of appeal and is simultaneously pursuing related constitutional and legal challenges at both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
At the centre of the dispute is a High Court interpretation which held that the OSP requires specific legal authorisation under its enabling legislation before independently initiating certain prosecutions. The ruling has significant implications for how the anti-corruption body exercises its mandate.
The issue also surfaced during proceedings in the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) case on Thursday, April 23, where former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is among the accused persons.
The matter continues to draw legal and institutional attention as higher courts are expected to determine the scope of the OSP’s prosecutorial powers in upcoming hearings.
