No High Court can strip OSP of prosecutorial power – Kwaku Azar challenges court ruling
Ghanaian legal scholar and social commentator Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has criticised a recent High Court ruling that limits the prosecutorial powers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
This follows an Accra High Court decision ordering the Attorney General (AG) to take over all criminal prosecutions currently being handled by the OSP, after declaring its prosecution mandate as void.
The court held that while the OSP has investigative powers, it can only prosecute cases with the authorisation of the Attorney General, in line with Article 88(4) of the 1992 Constitution.
Presiding judge Justice John Eugene Nyadu Nyante made the orders on Wednesday, April 15, following a legal challenge to the OSP’s prosecutorial authority.
The court also imposed costs of GH¢15,000 against the OSP.
The effect of the ruling is that the OSP is barred from prosecuting cases unless it obtains prosecutorial authority from the Attorney General.
Reacting in a social media post on the same day, Prof. Kwaku Azar argued that the decision can not hold.
“No High Court can strip the OSP of prosecutorial power. The OSP is here to stay,” the post stated.