Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu says the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the Attorney-General’s power to discontinue prosecutions initiated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) provides an important check on the anti-corruption agency.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Wednesday, July 29, Mr Kpebu described the ruling as a “welcome relief” and said it had clarified the constitutional relationship between the Attorney-General and the OSP.
“It’s a welcome relief, very timely. It will help to at least keep Kissi Agyebeng in check for a bit,” he said.
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), but ruled that the Attorney-General retains the constitutional authority under Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution to discontinue prosecutions initiated by the OSP.
Mr Kpebu said the ruling makes it clear that although the OSP has prosecutorial powers, those powers are ultimately exercised on behalf of the Attorney-General.
“The Supreme Court has been very clear that the Office of the Special Prosecutor is under the Attorney-General’s office. The decision is that it’s only the Attorney-General who has power to prosecute. Any other person prosecuting a criminal case is doing it on behalf of the Attorney-General,” he explained.
According to him, the judgment confirms two key powers of the Attorney-General under the Constitution: the authority to initiate criminal prosecutions and the power to discontinue them at any stage.
Mr Kpebu believes this arrangement provides an important safeguard against possible abuse of prosecutorial powers by the OSP.
He said the ruling also gives individuals who believe they have been unfairly targeted by the OSP a constitutional avenue to seek redress.
“The meaning of the Supreme Court decision now is that if the OSP misbehaves towards you or abuses you, you report to the Attorney-General,” he said.
He explained that the Attorney-General can request the case file, review the circumstances and merits of the prosecution, and, where necessary, order that the case be discontinued.
“The Attorney-General will call for the file and look at it and see if your case has merit. The Attorney-General will stop what the OSP is doing. So that’s very key. It’s a key check,” Mr Kpebu stated.
The Supreme Court’s ruling followed a constitutional challenge brought by private legal practitioner Noah Adamtey, who argued that Parliament could not confer independent prosecutorial powers on the OSP because Article 88 of the Constitution vests prosecutorial authority in the Attorney-General.
While the court upheld the constitutionality of the OSP Act, it made clear that the Attorney-General’s constitutional power to discontinue criminal prosecutions remains intact, including prosecutions initiated by the Special Prosecutor.
The ruling therefore preserves the OSP’s ability to prosecute corruption-related offences while reaffirming the Attorney-General’s constitutional oversight over criminal prosecutions.
