THE Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has said it was taking steps to quickly overturn the decision of the High Court, Accra (General Jurisdiction), on April 15 of stripping its prosecutorial powers.
It said the High Court does not have jurisdiction to, in effect, strike down parts of an Act of Parliament, which establishes the OSP, as unconstitutional.
The Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Adjabeng, in a statement issued shortly after the ruling delivered by Justice John Nyadu Nyante, said that it is only the Supreme Court which can strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional.
“The OSP firmly assures the public that all the criminal prosecutions it has commenced before the courts and all the criminal prosecutions it is about to commence before the courts remain valid and would proceed based on its mandate under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), which remains valid and in force as the matter has not been decided by the Supreme Court,” Mr Adjabeng added.
On Wednesday, the High Court ruled that OSP cannot conduct criminal proceedings in court without the express authorisation of the Attorney-General.
It went ahead to declare all prosecutions being undertaken by the OSP as null and void.
Justice Nyante made these orders following an action challenging the prosecutorial powers of the OSP, which was granted with costs of GH¢15,000 awarded against the OSP.
In October 2023, the OSP filed criminal charges against Seidu Issah, an employee of the National Insurance Commission (NIC), and three others for allegedly using fake documents to claim ownership of 10,000 bags of rice imported from Thailand to Ghana.
The accused are currently standing trial before the High Court (Criminal Division), where proceedings remain ongoing.
The Criminal Court dismissed an application by the accused seeking to strike out the case.
The judge adjourned proceedings to await a determination by the Supreme Court on a matter in which both the plaintiff and the Attorney-General (the defendant) are challenging the independent prosecutorial power of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
In a parallel development, the accused initiated a separate action at the High Court (General Jurisdiction 10).
In contrast to the Criminal Court, the General Jurisdiction judge declined an application by the OSP to adjourn proceedings pending the outcome of the matter before the Supreme Court.
The judge decided that the OSP lacks independent prosecutorial mandate.
The Judge then directed that the case be referred to the Attorney-General for prosecution.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
