The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus in Parliament says it will resist any attempt to place corruption prosecutions back under executive control, insisting that the independence of the Office of the Special Prosecutor must be protected.
Addressing the Parliamentary Press Corps, Alhassan Tampuli Sulemana argued that the OSP was established because governments cannot be relied upon to prosecute themselves.
He said the institution was specifically created to operate independently of the Attorney-General’s Department, which functions under the executive branch.
According to him, recent legislative proposals, court cases and policy developments risk reversing that independence and returning anti-corruption prosecutions to political control.
Mr Sulemana criticised suggestions that the OSP should seek approval from the Attorney-General before prosecuting cases, arguing that such a system would allow government to decide which cases move forward.
He warned that this could undermine years of reforms aimed at strengthening Ghana’s anti-corruption framework.
The Minority maintained that the law establishing the OSP, Act 959, remains in force until the Supreme Court of Ghana rules otherwise.
The comments follow a recent ruling by an Accra High Court, presided over by John Eugene Nyadu Nyante, which held that the OSP does not have the constitutional authority to independently prosecute criminal cases and must instead refer such matters to the Attorney-General.
