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Ghana’s political establishment has closed ranks in a rare moment of bipartisan unity—this time to demand the abolition of the Office of the Special Prosecutor—following the dramatic arrest of private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu at the very institution, he accused of corruption.
The confrontation has ignited nationwide alarm, and in an analysis written by Daniel Adjei Esq., critics warn that Parliament’s sudden push to dissolve the OSP signals not institutional failure, but a calculated effort by both major parties to cripple a corruption watchdog they now fear more than they support.
Below is his Analysis
THE GREAT BETRAYAL: HOW GHANA’S POLITICIANS PLOT TO KILL THEIR OWN ANTI-CORRUPTION WATCHDOG
THE CITIZEN’S MANIFESTO
In this Dramatic Siege of Bipartisan Hope to Bipartisan Hypocrisy, the OSP Must Be Strengthened, Not Strangled. The image is both farcical and tragic, as Martin Kpebu, a leading private legal practitioner, was arrested and detained by officials of the very institution he had accused of corruption. (The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP)). This confrontation, sparked by Kpebu’s public allegations against Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng and the subsequent summons to “defend” his claims, is more than a personal legal spat. It is the perfect, chaotic symbol of a national institution in crisis, a crisis now being cynically exploited by the very political class that created it.
In a stunning and revealing twist, Ghana’s Parliament, the citadel of our representative democracy, has found a rare moment of unity. Both the Majority of the governing (National Democratic Congress, NDC) and the Minority (the opposition New Patriotic Party, NPP) are now singing in harmony: Abolish the Office of the Special Prosecutor. Boi! Boi!! Boi!!! This is the same office that the NPP, then in the Majority, championed with fiery rhetoric in 2017. The same office that was touted as a “world class” solution to corruption, a key promise that helped sweep them to victory in 2016. Haha, what an intriguing world!
This sudden, convulsive consensus is not a revelation of the OSP’s failure, I suppose. It is a confession of Parliament’s fear. As a citizen, I sound the alarm: this move to dissolve the OSP is not in the national interest; But it is an act of profound political self-preservation, a betrayal of the people’s trust, and a fatal blow to our fragile anti-corruption architecture. The OSP must not be thrown out with the bathwater of political frustration. It must be radically, urgently, and intelligently reformed, depoliticized, and empowered. To abolish it is to surrender the fight. Let us be clear about the OSP’s origins. It was not born from a serene, constitutional convention. It was born from political necessity. The 2016 elections were dominated by the stench of scandals: GYEEDA, SUBA, SADA. The NPP’s campaign, led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, weaponized public anger, with the promise of an independent Special Prosecutor as its silver bullet. The public demanded a hunter; the politicians offered a promise and delivered same.
The passage of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) in January 2018 was a spectacle of bipartisan theatre. The NDC, then in opposition but with numbers in Parliament, supported it, seeing it as a tool for future accountability. The NPP hailed it as historic. Yet, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has now exposed the foundational truth many legal minds whispered from day one. He recently stated the office was established “as a statement of intent to fight corruption rather than as a constitutionally mandated office.” HMM! But it has existed throughout the test of time to date when it has now used its “stick for beating TAKYI on BAAH”. As literally translated in Akan adage. Oh! Baah, I am so sorry, okay? Ops, please find a way to apologize okay? don’t you know BAAH is a darling boy?
This is the crucial legal and political context. The OSP is a statutory creation, existing at the pleasure of Parliament, unlike the constitutionally entrenched Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) or the Auditor-General. Its “independence” was always conditional, always vulnerable. The fatal flaw was designed in an office meant to investigate the powerful sat within a framework where its funding, logistical support, and operational continuity were controlled by the very Executive it might need to investigate. We planted a seed in barren, politically-toxic soil and are now feigning shock that the tree is stunted. Oh! my Ghana.
The current turmoil is a perfect storm that serves political interests perfectly. The cycle is telling:
Allegations: A respected lawyer, Martin Kpebu, levels public allegations of corruption against the Special Prosecutor.
Aggressive Response: The OSP, perhaps feeling besieged, summons Kpebu in a manner perceived as intimidation.
Public Spectacle: An altercation ensues at the OSP’s office, leading to Kpebu’s arrest. Trust erodes on all sides.
Political Pounce: Seizing on this chaos and the office’s perceived lack of high-profile convictions, politicians from both sides declare the experiment a failure.
The rhetoric is revealing. The Majority Leader argues the office has achieved nothing and is a “waste of resources.” The Speaker questions its validity. The current minority, then the majority in less than a decade ago sold this office to Ghanaians as the solution and as a cogent political achievement, and defended its creation now nods in agreement. Why this stunning U-turn?
The answer lies in the cold calculus of power. The OSP’s greatest “failure” in the eyes of the political establishment is its latent potential. The fear is no longer partisan; it is universal. The NPP fears it could be turned against them today. The NDC fears it could be weaponised against them tomorrow. As a citizen, my fear is crystallised in one observation: When the political class, in all its factions, unanimously moves to dismantle an accountability office, it is because they have unanimously calculated that it poses a threat—not to the state, but to their impunity. They are not abolishing a failed institution; they are disarming a potentially powerful one.
To abolish the OSP after less than a decade is an act of profound national short-sightedness. It declares that Ghana’s commitment to fighting grand corruption was a fleeting, less than a decade-long experiment. We must reject this. The argument is not that the OSP is successful, but that it struggles to diagnose a sickness in our governance system that abolition would only worsen.
Nation-building is a marathon, not a sprint. Complex institutions especially those fighting entrenched corruption require time, learning, and iterative reform. To judge the entire concept a failure based on its first, politically constrained in a decade is to misunderstand how democracies build resilient institutions. We must set our focus to diagnose and look for healing solutions, not pronounce dead and bury just in the interest of a few who think usurping their powers at a point in time is closing the nostrils of all citizens in the country, Ghana.
Even with few convictions, the OSP exists as a dedicated focal point for corruption complaints. It forces corruption onto the agenda. Its mere presence complicates the calculations of the corrupt. Abolishing it sends a catastrophic signal that Ghana is retreating from the fight, dismantling a dedicated apparatus. What replaces it? The overburdened, under resourced police CID and an Attorney-General’s office subject to direct presidential instruction? That is not reform; it is regression. A total regression of all standards lets take good note of that.
The OSP’s struggles are not mystical, but are the predictable outcomes of a flawed structure as follows: Financial Strangulation, Subject to the discretionary whims of the Executive in power, Political Interference is Real or perceived, creating a chilling effect on investigations into the “untouchables.” For want of a better word. Operational Hog-tying in the form of a dedicated, independent investigative arm and bureaucratic hurdles in hiring specialists. Are all significant factors to be considered in the midst of others that stand in need but cannot be mentioned.
In this sense, let me then emphasise that we do not need a funeral. We need a surgery. In a Blueprint or robotic structure for a Powerful, Independent OSP: cushioned with supportive absorbers in the following manner:
Financial Autonomy Now by Amend Act 959 to mandate that the OSP receives a fixed percentage (e.g., 0.5%) of Parliament’s total annual budget allocation, released automatically like the District Assemblies Common Fund. This breaks the Executive’s power to stifle it via the purse.
Iron-Clad Tenure Security: Amend the removal process for the Special Prosecutor. It must mirror Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution (removal of judges). Removal can only be for “stated misbehaviour or incompetence or on grounds of inability to perform functions” following a petition, an investigation by an independent committee, and a two-thirds majority vote in Parliament. This will certainly end the threat of capricious dismissal and the fear of being overshadowed by his appointors. Everyone is subject to his master in a way.
Operational Muscle: Grant the OSP statutory power to:
Contract external forensic auditors, financial analysts, and investigators directly, with a streamlined, non-politicized approval process.
Establish a small, dedicated corps of seconded but OSP-commanded investigative officers. Which I think is in place but must be perfectly strengthened.
Clarify the Mandate: A constitutional or statutory review to clearly delineate the OSP’s role from the Attorney-General and the Police. Eliminate the fog where investigations get lost.
Conclusion: A Call to Defend the Republic from Its Protectors
The plot to abolish the OSP is not just a policy disagreement. It is a moment of truth. It reveals that when their interests align, our politicians can act with lightning speed not to solve our problems, but to solve their own. But I don’t think there are some tin gods on the land of Ghana my motherland untouchable.
We, the citizens, must be wiser. We must see through this bipartisan charade. We must reject the easy, cynical answer of abolition. Our message to Parliament must be deafening:
“We see your fear. We demand your courage. You created this office in our name. You have failed to arm it for battle. Now you blame it for not winning the war. Your duty is not to kill the watchdog because its bark is inconvenient. Your duty is to remove its muzzle, strengthen its chain, and point it towards the true predators. Do not abolish the Office of the Special Prosecutor. Fulfill your promise. Empower it. For the sake of Ghana, and for the generations to come, strengthen the OSP.”
The fight against corruption is not a ten-year experiment. It is the perpetual price of our sovereignty. We must pay it, not with the blood of sacrificed institutions, but with the iron will to build them right.
Let the OSP stand. Let it be fixed. Let it finally hunt.
CONCERNED CITIZEN: DANIEL ADJEI Esq
(ab initio)
