SC Dismisses Application for Declaration of OSP Unconstitutional

The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed an application to declare the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) null and void.

The apex court on December 11 unanimously dismissed the review application.

The Editor-in-chief of the Daily Searchlight newspaper, Kenneth Kwabena Agyei Kuranchie initially filed a case against the OSP, seeking a Supreme Court ruling to declare the OSP unconstitutional and place the Office under the control of the Attorney General

In his writ, Mr. Kuranchie argued that the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) violated several articles of the 1992 Constitution.

He first filed a writ in September 2023 but discontinued it in June 2024. Subsequently, he filed a new one in July 2024.

However, after failing to submit a statement of case for nine months, he sought to withdraw the writ.

The Supreme Court struck out the case without granting him liberty to reapply. The Court further stated that the OSP should not be encumbered with such suits.

Subsequently, Kuranchie filed a review application requesting the court to overturn its earlier decision barring him from reapplying.

After hearing arguments from all parties, the full bench of the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed his review application.

The OSP is an anti-corruption agency with police powers and independent prosecutorial authority, established in 2018 to investigate and prosecute specific cases of grand corruption and corruption-related offences involving public officers, politically exposed persons, and private sector individuals.

It is also tasked with recovering proceeds of corruption, and to take steps to prevent corruption.