Office of Special Prosecutor still without a board

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is still without a board, five months after the swearing in of Kissi Agyebeng as the new Special Prosecutor.

Mr. Agyebeng was sworn into office in 2021 as a successor for Martin Amidu, the office’s first special prosecutor who resigned in 2020.

The office becomes fully operational when there is a Governing Board to direct affairs per the Act establishing it.

The board is expected to have representatives from institutions such as the Ghana Police Service, the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO), a woman representing the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations, the Commission on Human Rights, and administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and the Financial Intelligence Centre.

There are concerns the absence of the board will stall the recruitment of staff and the set-up of divisions within the office.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor has been tasked to investigate and prosecute specific categories of cases and allegations of corruption and other criminal wrongdoing, including those involving alleged violations of the Public Procurement Act, 2003, and cases implicating public officers and politically-exposed persons.

The previous board was chaired by the Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Linda Ofori Kwafo.

Other members of that board were, former CID Boss, DCOP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah; the EOCO rep, Charles Nana Antwi; representatives from civil society, Linda Ofori Kwafo and Addai Wereko Tawiah; Kofi Wiredu Boakye, Charles Ayamadu, and Kwaku Domfeh.

—Citinewsroom