The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has signalled its intention to challenge a recent High Court decision that questioned its authority to prosecute criminal cases independently.
In a statement shared on Facebook on Wednesday, April 15, the anti-corruption body described the ruling as flawed and argued that the court overstepped its constitutional boundaries.
According to the OSP, steps are already underway to overturn the decision, insisting that the High Court, as a court of general jurisdiction, does not have the power to invalidate provisions of an Act of Parliament on constitutional grounds. The office stressed that such authority lies solely with the Supreme Court of Ghana.
The development follows a ruling by the High Court in Accra, presided over by Justice John Eugene Nyadu Nyante, which held that while the OSP can investigate corruption-related offences, it does not have the constitutional mandate to initiate prosecutions on its own. The court based its decision on Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution, which assigns prosecutorial powers to the Attorney-General.
The case was triggered by a quo warranto application filed by Peter Achibold Hyde, who challenged the legal foundation of the OSP’s prosecutorial role.
Legal analysts say the ruling could affect a number of ongoing corruption cases being handled by the OSP, potentially slowing proceedings until the matter is settled by a higher court.
Despite the decision, the OSP maintains that its enabling legislation, the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, grants it full authority to both investigate and prosecute corruption-related offences, and it remains resolute in defending that mandate.
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